For the One Who Almost Lost Everything (Alternate Endgame)
by Workshop1873
Summary: The Team hates Nightwing when he tells the truth. When he's burned & comatose after saving Wally, they have to go into his mind to save him & apologize with help from his imaginary friends (Raya, Raymond, & Zane). Wally is alive. He isn't dead & died. Contains references to other fandoms. Dick & Wally friendship; Dick & Barbara; Dick & Zatanna; Superboy & Miss Martian; Tim & Cassie
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was inspired by I'm Sorry by HomicidalLunatic (the story is being rewritten) and Fade From View by s8trgrlhinata. The first story I liked but the second story...not so much because Jason Todd just appears out of nowhere and I don't know how Bart realizes his original bad future has been replaced with a different bad future without actually traveling forward through time and seeing it for himself. The title was inspired by** **" ** **For the Man Who Has Everything"**** which was ********the similar sounding title for a 1985 Superman** comic book story and a 2004 _Justice League Unlimited_ episode. **Also, I tried to do some research on electrocution, psychiatry, and psychology to make this more realistic but I'm not sure how accurate the medical knowledge in this story is. The squads listed came from Greg Weisman who had to cut some scenes due to time constraints.  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Young Justice, the Young Justice wikia, DC comics, and the other fandoms that are referenced in this story.**

He hoped that the Team, especially Batgirl and Robin, would listen and understand why he kept his plan a secret just like Miss Martian who was given an explanation during her time onboard the Manta-Sub. He was dead wrong.

* * *

 **The Team's warehouse in Bludhaven**

 _"She fried Kaldur's mind, got kidnapped, and almost died. They would've all been exposed and killed because you didn't trust us? What kind of leader doesn't trust his own Team?!"_

 _"I can't believe I actually used to look up to you as a role model."_

 _"All I wanted was to live a normal life with Artemis! Why did you have to ruin it?! Why?!"_

 _"How could you let me think my best friend was dead?!"_

 _"He let me get captured and experimented on just for the sake of the mission and you supporting him?! Sis! I could've died!"_

 _"You're just like Batman! Only the mission, not other people's safety matter! Oh and speaking of Batman, just wait until he hears about this when he gets back!"_

 _"Nuh uh! I don't want to hear it!"_

 _"GUYS, STOP! If you don't want an explanation, that's fine but we need to plan out how to infiltrate the summit in Santa Prisca and clear the Justice League's name!"_

Nightwing didn't blame most of the people present, especially Wally, for their anger because he wondered what would happened if Miss Martian, Artemis, and Aqualad really did die. He wouldn't be welcome at their funerals. Wally would flip out more than he did during that time in the Hall of Justice after the Cave was blown up and possibly beat him to a bloody pulp. Superboy and Lagoon Boy would've done the same thing too if they didn't control their anger. The memory of Wally pushing him into a chair came back to haunt him because to Nightwing, Wally expressed little concern about his best friend's welfare. Nightwing felt hurt, thinking that his own best friend cared more about Artemis than the person who had to rely on her and another teammate for information while making sure the 2 double agents were safe. Nightwing didn't blame Zatanna for slapping him since they broken up on good terms back then but now the good mutual feelings between them were gone. He didn't blame Superboy and Lagoon Boy for wanting to literally rip him apart. After all, despite being ex-lovers to Miss Martian, the 2 guys still had feelings for her. He didn't blame anyone for still fuming even after the battle in Santa Prisca. Miss Martian originally thought about forcibly putting the Team into a mindscape but she couldn't bring herself to do so because she was worried about what Superboy would think. She wanted to be together with Superboy again and didn't want to risk losing that chance. The Team did manage to put their anger aside when they planned out how to infiltrate the summit as well as during the fight in Santa Prisca but continued to be mad at their leader after it was over.

* * *

 **Watchtower, June 19**

In the Watchtower, Aqualad pleaded with Red Tornado, Aquaman, and Green Arrow not to punish Nightwing for the deception. Only Green Arrow opposed to Nightwing going unpunished for his actions because of all the heartbreak he had been through involving Artemis, Red Arrow, and Arsenal.

"Green Arrow, please. I understand your feelings towards Nightwing but Artemis wouldn't want you to be like this. If you won't do this for me, at least do this for her," pleaded Aqualad. Green Arrow sighed and reluctantly agreed. He and Nightwing shook hands as a sign of forgiveness. However, the handshake did little to comfort Nightwing. Aqualad sighed in relief as he avoided confrontation with the 3 League members, unlike with the Team.

Suddenly, a boom tube appears, expelling unconscious bodies of Captain Marvel, Black Canary, and Black Lightning. The Warworld suddenly activates and rapidly leaves Earth's orbit.

"Uhm. Is that a good thing or not?" asked Nightwing as the Warworld rapidly moves away.

* * *

 **Watchtower, June 20**

Earlier in Metropolis, few people wanted to talk with Nightwing during and after Luthor's speech about the Reach-tech eggs which contained an anti-Reach virus. The heroes were divided into 20 squads.

Alpha - Captain Atom, Eduardo "Ed" Dorado, Jr.

Beta - Blue Beetle, Impulse

Gamma - Flash, Plastic Man

Delta - Black Lightning, Virgil Hawkins

Epsilon - Nighwing, B'arzz O'oomm

Zeta - Rocket, Adam Strange

Eta - Aquaman, Tempest

Theta - Black Canary, Asami "Sam" Koizumi

Iota - Green Arrow, Captain Marvel

Kappa - Bumblebee, Guardian

Lambda - Red Tornado, Jay Garrick

Mu - Doctor Fate, Blue Devil

Nu - Red Arrow, Arsenal

Omicron - Atom, Tye Longshadow

Pi - Zatanna, Batgirl

Rho - Superboy, Wolf

Sigma - Aqualad, Lagoon Boy

Tau - Robin, Wonder Girl

Psi - Miss Martian, Beast Boy

Omega - Artemis, Kid Flash

After disabling an MFD with Green Beetle, Nightwing was in the Watchtower with Captain Atom, Aquaman, Snapper Carr, Green Arrow, the Atom, Captain Marvel, Kid Flash, and Artemis. They listened to Luthor instruct Impulse and the Flash to use their speed trails to try to siphon off excess energy from the MFD in Arctic.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Artemis asks Kid Flash but he already left in the Zeta-Tube.

The 3 speedsters try contribute as much kinetic energy as they can. Meanwhile, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Aqualad, and Nightwing were on their way to the Arctic in the Bio-Ship. Nightwing felt that deep down, the Team hated him so much that they no longer wanted him and feared what Batman would think when he returned to Earth. He feared being kicked off the Team and out of the manor. In his mind, a few potential scenes were playing out. The first potential scene that he imagined was that he would no longer be welcomed at Wayne Manor. The next potential scene was Wally yelling out, _"I wished you had died with your whole family!"_ at him before walking away with Artemis who could only look back in shame. Another scene was figuring out how to kill himself. The final scene was his own funeral with only Miss Martian, Artemis and Aqualad looking at Nightwing's grave.

Those three had previously tried to take some of the blame off but he refused, despite their protests. He said to them, "leaders must take responsibility for their actions. The whole plan was my idea anyway and you two (pointing to Artemis and Aqualad) simply agreed to it. All three of you had the most to lose while I sat back without endangering my own life."

Nightwing thought that as long as the Team was alive, he could dealing with them hating him...at least that's what he thought. The more he tried to push the fear of rejection and abandonment aside, the more it grew. He could feel it growing ever since the deception was first planned out.

* * *

 **North Magnetic Pole**

They arrive and come out to see that the energy is decreasing. Then Nightwing hears Blue Beetle say something about 'cease' in an exasperated tone after exclaiming yes. Nightwing had a bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Before anyone could do anything, Nightwing instantly charges towards the scene without thinking. The others chase after him but the snow being kicked up by the vortex obstructs their view. Just as the final lightning strike was about to hit Kid Flash, Nightwing manages to push Kid Flash out of the way just in time but at a terrible price. Nightwing screams in pain as he's electrocuted before falling into the snow which cools his severe burns. The vortex finally disappears and the others help Flash and Impulse stand up.

"What the hell just-" Kid Flash suddenly saw a lifeless black figure lying in the snow.

"NO!" yelled Kid Flash as he quickly ran over to him at normal speed because contributing kinetic energy made him tired. As Wally kneels in the snow near the body, which was facing down, he sees that Nightwing's cloths are shredded. The others quickly surround them and were too stunned to speak. Miss Martian levitates his body and turns it over, slowly and carefully.

"Wally...You're ok," whispered Nightwing in pain. Nightwing closed his eyes, making the others fear the worse for a few agonizing silent seconds.

"Dude, please don't die on me!" he said desperately.

"The Nightwing has not died, Jaime Reyes," said the scarab which snaps Jaime out of his shock.

"Wait, what?!" yells Blue Beetle which catches the attention of the others.

"My physiology scan shows that the Nightwing has fallen into a coma and is barely alive. He has severe burns all over his body and requires immediate medical attention," said the scarab.

"OK, GOT IT!" Blue Beetle yells out before he repeats what the scarab told him.

Miss Martian carefully and quickly levitates Nightwing's limp body back to the bio-ship while Aqualad uses his water bearers to cool the burns. "I can hear a heartbeat but it was getting weaker," Superboy added worryingly as Miss Martian quickly flies the bio-ship as fast as she could back to the Watchtower.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor beach**

Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Hawkman, Icon, and the 6 acquitted League members have returned to Happy Harbor beach only find Mount Justice destroyed.

"Are we too late?" asked Superman worryingly.

"Look," said Batman who pointed to the sky. They are welcomed by Aqualad and Miss Martian in the Super-Cycle. The Leaguers weren't surprised to see Aqualad because Miss Martian had already told them some of the basic details about the deception when she and Superboy tried to sway the court's opinion. However they weren't told of Artemis's fake death, Miss Martian's kidnapping, and the destruction of the Cave.

"Aqualad, what happened?" asked Batman.

"Fear not. The crisis has been averted but at a terrible cost..." replied Aqualad. When Miss Martian finished projecting EVERYTHING in the Leaguers' minds, Batman almost fainted and had to be physically supported by Superman.

* * *

 **A few hours later inside Nightwing's mind**

Earlier, lightning from dark clouds struck everywhere, including a flying minibus. The minibus crashed to the ground and after some time passed, 3 people with red hair walk out from the minibus.

"Ugh. What happened?" asked a male redhead as the dark environment began to become even worse than before. The ground splits open, swallowing the minibus. "No! The bus!" yelled a female redhead.

"Come on, let's go in there!" said a male redhead who pointed to Gotham Academy in the distance.

At the same time, unbeknownst to the trio, a dark shadow creature quickly materializes and begins to take on a human form. The figure wanders around for quite a bit before entering Gotham Cemetery. After some wondering around, he sees his target, Dick Grayson, who has just started waking up and was unaware of how long he had been asleep.

Dick wakes up to see his family's graves in front of him and quickly backs up. He felt every weak and was unaware of how long was he in Gotham Cemetery or how he got in. He soon feels an evil presence nearby and turns around, only to see nothing so he starts to wonder around the cemetery. Several seconds later, he feels the evil presence again. When he turns around this time, he's frozen in shock upon recognizing the figure.

"Long time, no see, eh circus brat?" the figure asks in a sly accent.

All Dick could do was weakly respond with a no as the figure slowly approaches him.

"No friends are going to help you this time," the figure said as he gave off a dark energy aura.

 **IMPORTANT FACT: UNLIKE IN THIS STORY, DEPRESSION DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT IN REAL LIFE.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The first scene is based on the opening scene of** ** **"On The Carpet"** ( _Archer Vice_ ). Other references include the _Young Justice_ episodes "Agendas" & "Disordered" in which Black Canary listens to Dick Grayson and Batman talk about Dick Grayson not becoming "the Batman."**

 **Watchtower, past midnight on June 21**

To say that Black Canary is angry would be an understatement. Earlier, she, Captain Marvel, and Black Lightning were defeated by Klarion and Vanadal Savage in the crystal key chamber. When they woke up, they were shocked to see Aqualad in his superhero outfit. Aquaman manages to debrief them but didn't get a chance to tell them about how Nightwing was mistreated. When word spread about Nightwing being hospitalized, Rocket, Zatanna, and the entire Team became overwhelmed with grief and regret for what they did. However, that didn't stop Black Canary from calling for an immediate meeting with them. She sat on one side of the room with Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow. They were facing the interrogees who hung their heads in shame and could barely look at Black Canary's death stare. Kid Flash, Superboy, Zatanna, Impulse, and Blue Beetle were the only interrogees who already saw Nightwing's body. Despite being in space, the interrogees felt as if they were in the living room of a Gilded Age mansion while the fire in the fireplace crackled and heavy rains pattered on the windows. Black Canary drinks a glass cup of chamomile tea while she briefly looked at each interrogee for a brief millisecond. The suspense and silence was killing the interrogees. They were also tired, but Black Canary's stare kept them from falling asleep.

"Arrow," Black Canary said coldly after she drinks her cup dry.

"Yes Canary?" asked Green Arrow before refilling Black Canary's glass cup.

Black Canary answered, "If I see this glass cup empty again, I will be very unhappy."

"Got it," replied Green Arrow before he quickly stepped back when the cup was filled. _"Glad I forgave him beforehand,"_ Green Arrow thought to himself.

"Now then. Who'd like to go first?" she asked with an evil smirk. She got no reply. "No? All right, then I will." She closes her eyes and took a deep breath.

"INGRATES!" she yelled as she threw the glass at the interrogees which scares them but she intentionally missed them. Green Arrow quickly gives her a new cup of chamomile tea.

"Thank you, dear. For a moment there, I thought I was going to be unhappy." She took a quick sip before smirking again. "Now then...who's next?"

* * *

 _ **EARLIER**_

Nightwing was rushed to the medical room where Artemis helped Black Canary wrap him in medical gauze. After Black Canary put Nightwing on a cocktail of drugs, Artemis, Aqualad and Miss Martian left in the bio-ship with Sphere. Miss Martian, Sphere, and Aqualad went to Happy Harbor beach to greet and inform the returning League members what happened. Artemis used the bio-ship to pick up the other heroes on Earth. Blue Beetle and Superboy stayed behind to monitor the situation. When Doctor Fate arrived via his magic portal, he was asked perform a healing spell. Just as he was about to, Zatanna rushed in and froze in shock. She then suddenly screamed, "NO NO! THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED! I HATED HIM FOR LYING TO ME! I DIDN'T ACTUALLY WANT HIM DEAD!"

She broke down in tears as Kid Flash, who was guarding the entrance, drags her out because Doctor Fate needed to concentrate. The commotion gets the others' attention when they returned from shutting down the MFDs. Artemis had already told the Team what happened. Aqualad, Miss Martian, Sphere, and the Leaguers who went to Rimbor eventually arrive on a Green Lantern spaceship. Blue Beetle, Superboy, and Black Canary come out.

"Fate's healing spell is speeding up his recovery but he's still badly injured and in a coma. Barely alive. Only you and Superman can come in," she tells Batman before turning her attention to the crowd that formed outside the door. "I'll alert the rest of you if we have any more updates."

When the door closed, Batman was quietly in tears. He sat near Nightwing's bedside and pulled his cowl off. Superman put his hand on Batman's shoulder as a sign of emotion support for him. The only sign that his first protege was barely alive was the beep of the heart monitor.

"Despite how his best friend treated was treated him, Nightwing still cared about Wally and managed to save him," Batman blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Black Canary asked confusingly.

"You didn't know? I thought you were already told everything."

When she shook her head, Batman proceeded to tell her about the team's treatment of Nightwing which made Black Canary's eyes widen. When he finished, her eyes narrowed and her expression turned from confusion to anger. Batman wanted rip the Team into shreds but Black Canary refused. She coldly said to him, "Let me take care of that. Besides, you've been away from Nightwing long enough. He needs his father now. Don't you agree?"

Batman nodded yes before heading towards the door. She was halfway to the door when she pauses because she hears Batman audibly whispering, "Dick, if you can hear me, I'm so sorry for everything...I never wanted you to turn out like me..." Batman gripped Nightwing's hand as tightly as possible. This gives her an idea.

"Bruce. Can I tell them about what you said to Diana when she complained about having a 9 year old crime fighter?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered her coldly.

Black Canary exits the room, looking furious. The door closes behind her.

"Canary, what's wrong?" asked Mal Duncan.

"I know how you and the others treated Nightwing," she replied coldly. The blood of him and the other Team members ran cold. "Artemis. You, M'gaan, and Kaldur go in there and monitor Nightwing's situation with Superman, Batman, and Fate. I want the Team, Wally, Rocket, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter to follow me NOW. The rest of you need to disperse and let the people inside Nightwing's room grieve by themselves for now."

Everyone did as they were told. The trio was shocked to see something they've never seen before: Batman as Bruce Wayne crying.

Aqualad stepped forward. "Batman. I'm sorry that-"

Batman bitterly cuts him off with his acidic tongue. "That what? That Wonder Woman was right because he did turn out like me?"

Aqualad was frightened and confused. Superman puts his hand on Batman's shoulder before things got ugly, knowing that he could be exposed to Kryptonite for intervening.

"I'll take care of this, OK?" he said to Batman who only shook off Superman's hand and went back to looking at Nightwing's lifeless body. Superman walks towards the trio. "Sorry about that...you see...6 years ago..."

* * *

 _ **PRESENT TIME**_

"I hope all of you are proud of yourselves," Black Canary says angrily with particular attention being paid to Robin, Batgirl, Zatanna, Superboy, and Wally. She could easily break the glass cup with a grip from a single hand rather than use her canary cry. "The coma wasn't anyone's fault but now thanks to your words, there's now the additional possibly that your leader could have depressive and even suicidal thoughts. Each of you has every right to be angry with your leader's actions which could've put the lives of your fellow teammates in more danger than before. And unfortunately, it did...However, NONE of you have any right to kick Nightwing off the Team or even talk to him like that simply because Batman was off planet. The League decides on each member's fate because the Team operates on League terms. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," they murmur in shame. Black Canary's voice became increasingly louder.

"And another thing. You all said that your leader was turning into Batman because he didn't care about your well-being. Well he did care! He had to think all of you guys, the League, Kaldur, Artemis, and the fate of the world!"

She got up and turned to Martian Manhunter. "J'onn. Can you project my memories into the minds all everyone in the room? I want to show them something private."

He nodded yes and his eyes glowed. Two memories were projected into people's heads. "This happened during a training exercise that went horribly wrong after Miss martian

"Wait a second. Artemis died before and it turned out to be fake?" Lagoon Boy asks Black Canary.

"Yes except it wasn't part of an elaborate deception back then," answers Black Canary before the scene started playing.

 _"Hurting? Try traumatized. I finally become leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their deaths. And I know I did what I had to. But I hated it. When we started this team, I was desperate to be in charge. Not anymore. And that's not even the worst of it. You can't tell Batman."_

 _"Nothing leaves this room."_

 _"I always wanted, expected to grow up and become him. And the hero bit- I'm still all in. But that thing inside of him, the thing that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission, that's not me. I-I don't want to be "the" batman anymore."_

Another memory is being projected. "And this happened when the League was discussing if the League should expand and if so, who would join."

 _"Captain Marvel is a member and is entitled to participate, until or unless he's voted out."_

 _"It's not just his age. It's the fact that he lied about it."_

 _"I didn't lie exactly. I just left out the part about being a kid."_

 _"A lie of omission is still a lie. You kept an important secret from us. No one in the League knew the truth._

 _"I did."_

 _"I shouldn't be surprised. Since you indoctrinated Robin into crime fighting at the ripe old age of nine"_

 _"Robin needed to help bring the man who murdered his family to justice."_

 _"So he could turn out like you?"_

 _"So that he wouldn't."_

Everyone suddenly found themselves back in the room. The interrogees were filled with even more shame and regret than before.

"I'll tell Batman that you're ready to apologize to him and I expect you all to do the same when Nightwing wakes up. Understand?" asked Black Canary with her arms crossed.

"Yes, Black Canary," the interrogees said in unison.

* * *

 **Nightwing's room**

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that," said Artemis sadly after Superman finished his explanation.

Miss Martian was about to ask a question when there was a knocking on the wall.

"Batman. Can you come outside? There's something these people want to say," says Black Canary.

Batman wipes his tears away before doing just that and gives them the bat-glare while he crossed his arms. The ones with human DNA stepped back, forcing La'gaan to step forward and gulp.

"We're all sorry for how we treated Nightwing by not understanding what he's been through as leader...Can we see him?"

Batman clenches his fists and breathes in and out slowly to calm himself.

"Yes, you all can and I trust that none of you will try this again?" he asks bitterly. The Team nodded yes. The medical room was spacious enough to accommodate the Team. As soon as they were all in, they all tried to tried to get a good view of Nightwing's body. Robin wanted to hug his older brother so badly but couldn't.

"How long will it take for him to heal?" Miss Martian asks Doctor Fate.

"His burns will disappear in a day but I'm afraid I don't know how to wake him from his coma. My magic cannot fix a broken mind," he replied.

"Wait. I got an idea. Maybe the Team should go into his mind to find him and wake him up just like the two of us did with Kaldur," suggested Artemis to Miss Martian.

She fearfully replied, "What?! Are you crazy?! Kaldur didn't have severe burns when I tried to fix him. I don't know how those burns would affect our time in his mind a-and Tula was there and she attacked us-"

"Please, we have to or he's going to think that we don't want him anymore!" pleaded Batgirl.

"It's getting late and we all should be getting some sleep. Our first day of clean up efforts is in the morning," said Black Canary. "In the meantime, Batman and I will be discussing what to do and we'll let you know beforehand when you get back from clean up efforts."

* * *

 **daytime, June 21**

The Team and the League has been busy cleaning up the mess caused by the Reach and their MFDs but one person continued to linger in their minds. It's just before sunset in Gotham when Batman and Black Canary tell Zatanna, Rocket, Wally, and the Team that they need to go to the Watchtower when they're finished.

"Good news is that Superman did an x-ray. All the burns are completely gone. Bad news is that Nightwing is still not responding. I know that a coma rarely lasts more than 2 to 4 weeks but I can see the toll it's having on you guys...I've talked with Batman and we've decided to approve Artemis's idea...at the risk discovering aspects of Nightwing's personal life...Martian Manhunter has agreed to help me and Batman monitor the situation here while you guys go inside Nightwing's mind tomorrow night," said Black Canary as everyone looked at each other with worry and determination.

* * *

 **Nightwing's room, June 22**

It was nighttime in Gotham. The search and rescue party have finished dinner a few hours ago and are now trying to find a spot in Nightwing's room to sit or lie down in. The body cast and gauze has been removed. All the burns are already gone.

"Before we go, I need to warn you guys that his mind might perceive us as a threat. Just remember that the illusions aren't real. If you let them hurt you, your mind could suffer permanent damage," explained Miss Martian. The others nodded in response. Batman, the Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary, who will monitor the situation from outside Nightwing's mind, wish them good luck.

"Ready?" asked Miss Martian. When they all said yes in unison, she sighed and ordered them to close their eyes.

"All right. Here we go. 5...4...3...2...1..."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The grotto part is based on the fanfiction by Xmarksthespot entitled Home. The memory orbs refer to the Pixar film, _Inside Out_. ****The owl themed helmets refer the Court of Owls which doesn't make any appearance whatsoever in my story. The order of who takes off their helmet corresponds with when did that person first appeared in the New 52. The color and the order of each feather like pattern corresponds with what color was Dick's hoodie and when did he wear it in _Young Justice_**. **Black, the color of Robin's hoodie in "Failsafe" is excluded because the costumes already have enough black. Wally's anger and breakdown was inspired by "My Sister's Keeper" ( _Digimon Adventure 01_ ) scene when Tai tells Izzy, Tentomon, and Agumon about how he almost caused Kari to die.**

The search party find themselves in the grotto with the holograms of Artemis, Jason Todd, Tula, and Ted Kord.

"Hello! Chum! Where are you?" yelled Lagoon Boy who kept looking around.

Superboy immediately shushes everybody when he suddenly hears footsteps with his super hearing. "Someone's coming. Get ready," he whispered.

They all get ready to fight but are overjoyed when they see Nightwing coming down the steps.

"Dude! You're here!" Wally exclaimed joyfully. He runs towards him and passes right through him. "What the-"

Robin tries to grab his brother's arm and yells out 'hello' at him but his hand passes through him. Nightwing doesn't react to the search party's presence.

They follow him as he briefly glances at Ted Kord's memorial and stops in front of Tula's memorial. "I wish we didn't have to exploit your death like this but there's no another way," he says to her hologram.

Nightwing quickly makes his way towards Jason Todd's memorial and begins to speak as he stares up at it. The Team gets as close to him as possible.

"Hey Jay. I know how you complain that I should get to the point already so I'll make this quick. I'm here to say goodbye because this will be the last time I'll see you before the Cave is destroyed. There are still photos of you at the manor and my apartment but it won't feel the same."

Nightwing bits his lower lip as a single tear rolls down his cheek. "I can't save Wally's souvenirs but I put already copied Garfield's _Hello, Megan!_ tapes onto blank tapes and I'll put the originals in a safe place since you can't find the episodes online."

The thought of Beast Boy's mom came up. "I'll also have to let a few teammates get captured..."-he pinches his temples and sighed, upset about how Lagoon Boy got himself captured-"FOR REAL this time...I'm so sorry that there's no other way to do this but this is the best that I can come up with. The alternative would've been to fake my own death so Wally and Artemis can continue their normal lives..."

Nightwing slowly swings his right hand through Jason's hologram. Despite having been inside their leader's mind for a few minutes, everyone could feel their guilt increase and were horrified at the last sentence.

Beast Boy lets his tears roll down his cheeks. "I can't believe that he actually tried save my VHS tapes before the Cave was destroyed."

"I can't believe that he actually considered faking his own death if I said no," said Artemis who remembers her internal monologue after Miss Martian fried Aqualad's brain.

Nightwing makes his way towards the memorial for Artemis and stares. "Be safe," he says to the hologram before going up the stairs. The Team follow him to the lounge but he then fades away.

"He's gone. Now what?" asked Bumblebee.

"Hmm...M'gaan, does your mind link work while inside a person's mind?" asked Batgirl.

 _"Yes it does,"_ replied Miss Martian over the mind link.

 _"Good. Can you make psychic contact with Nightwing?"_

 _"I'm trying but I can't feel anything. Uggh. It's not working. I guess w_ _e'll split up and search for clues."_

 _"Wait, let me check the security cameras just as a precaution."_ Batgirl uses her holographic computer to hack the security cameras. _"Nothing except there's snow outside,"_ she commented. As if by bad luck, a few robots armed with lasers pop out of the snow and blast their way into the Cave. Artemis and Miss Martian start to have a bad deja vu moment. They don't remember why the robots look familiar.

"Guys, come on! To the Zeta-Tubes!" ordered Robin. Everyone did as they were told and when they reached the Zeta-Tubes, the robots have also arrived. Before the robots could fire their lasers, Blue Beetle destroys them all with his sonic blasts. Rocket then quickly creates a force bubble around herself and the others just in case. Robin immediately activates the machine and is surprised by what he sees.

"I don't believe this! There's only one machine working at the other end and it's in Gotham City."

"Then that's where we'll go," replied Batgirl before Robin begins to turn on the Zeta-Tubes.

"Everyone quickly, before reinforcements arrive!" yelled Batgirl.

Rocket releases her bubble. Everyone tightly and quickly packed themselves into the Zeta-Tubes before being whisked away. They all come out of the phone booth one by one.

"Did the other original members notice something familiar about those robots?" Artemis asks once everyone is present. "They look like miniature versions of the ones from that failsafe exercise we had 6 years. You know, the one where Miss Martian turned everything into a nightmare after she thought I died but I actually was in a coma?"

"Hello, Megan! I knew they looked familiar," exclaimed Miss Martian.

"Haven't heard that in a long time," commented Superboy who gave a weak smile. Miss Martian blushed.

"Sshhh! We'll probably be facing more threats the longer we're here," said Aqualad. "Miss Martian, Can you set up the mind link again?"

 _"Mind link reestablished,"_ said Miss Martian.

 _"All right. Let's find Nightwing before we could begin to actually fix his mind. Be alert. Remember that everything is an illusion or we will get hurt. We forgot about that back in the Cave,"_ said Aqualad as he lead everyone out of the alley. They're shocked to see that everything around them is black and white and in ruins. All around them are floating orbs that are the size of snow globes. Each one is colored yellow, blue, red, green, or purple. Some have more than one color in them.

 _"Conner, use your telescopic vision. I'll levitate you,"_ suggested Miss Martian. Superboy nodded and was quickly levitated upward. _"See anything?"_

 _"I see Gotham Academy. Maybe he's in there!"_ answered Superboy. Miss Martian lowers him down.

The Team runs for several blocks and stops, facing the front of a deteriorating Gotham Academy. As they slowly walk towards the front doors, Guardian asks, _"So Nightwing went to this school? Looks like it's for rich kids."_ Artemis, Kid Flash, Batgirl, and Robin didn't appreciate the remark, thinking that he meant that in a negative way.

 _"Hey, he's not a spoiled rich brat,"_ said Kid Flash with a glare.

Guardian holds his hands up in defense. _"Sorry. Just an observation. Didn't mean in a negative way."_

 _"It's alright. The longer we're here, the more you'll know, including stuff that those who already know about Nightwing's past don't know,"_ said Zatanna. _"But remember that just because you'll find out more about him by being in his head doesn't mean you can just snoop around."_

 _"And no spoilers,"_ said Robin sternly when everyone stopped in front of the doors. Robin glared at Impulse and Beast Boy. Impulse acted all innocent and looked away while Beast Boy replied, _"Noted."_

Robin and Batgirl open the doors and turn on their flashlights before leading the others down the hallway. As everyone walked, Batgirl, Robin, Zatanna, Rocket and the other original 5 were worried because even though they already knew about Nightwing's past, they were concerned about finding out about things that even they didn't know and weren't suppose to. They were also afraid about the others finding out too much about his private life even though Batman knew the risks and had given his approval.

Miss Martian tries to make psychic contact again but can't feel Nightwing's presence.

 _"Maybe he's in a different part of the school. Keep trying,"_ suggested Rocket.

Miss Martian tries again and yells out, _"Nightwing, if you're here, please show yourself. We're all here to help you."_

 _"Yeah. We don't want you gone. We're all here to apologize and want to help you,"_ added Blue Beetle but there's no response.

 _"Shouldn't we split up?"_ asked Rocket.

 _"No. It might make it easier for any threat inside his head to-"_ said Artemis before being interrupted by the sight of a broken display that had a shredded photo of Dick Grayson with his mathlete trophy. Then, Robin and Batgirl gasped when their flashlights show 'Artemis this, Artemis that' spray painted in red on the lockers.

 _"OK this is creepy,"_ commented Bumblebee. _"Why would he be upset with Artemis when she stood with him?"_

Suddenly, Miss Martian detects the mental presence of 3 unfamiliar people who are hiding around the corner and levitates them out of their hiding place. Before the Team could get a better look at the mysterious masked figures, the trio escape by throwing explosive shurikens at her, which knocks the Team out temporarily. They chase after the trio but those who weren't flying slip on a wet floor when the trio uses explosive shurikens on 2 water fountains. Upon getting back up, the Team was greeted by food based monsters coming from the cafeteria. Aqualad uses his magic to create big hard-water serpents from the broken water fountains to dissolve the monsters.

Everyone goes into the cafeteria where upon entering, they are greeted by delicious smells. Impulse and Beast Boy grinning like crazy and smacked their lips as they drooled. Their eyes begin to twinkle.

"Beast Boy. Impulse. Control yourselves. Miss Martian, try making psychic con-" ordered Aqualad before he was interrupted by the doors suddenly slamming themselves shut. Several tables and chairs are levitated and thrown to block the entrance. Birdarangs that were all over the serving area suddenly turn on and broadcast Nightwing's old childish laughter. Rocket immediately creates a force bubble around herself and the others just in time.

The force of the fiery explosion sends the bubble to the outside front of Gotham Academy. The school is destroyed and all that's left are color-coded floating orbs. Rocket releases her bubble and The Team gets back on their feet.

"That was so not crash. I didn't even get a single taste," complained Impulse.

Kid Flash, with rage in his eyes, suddenly slams his cousin against a tree before strangling and lashing out at him. "The school is gone and we're still nowhere closer to finding Nightwing but all you could think about is food?!"

"Wally, please stop! You're hurting me!" cried Impulse as he struggles to breathe. He was too terrified by his cousin's rage to vibrate his way out of his grip.

"Wally, what's gotten into you?" demanded Artemis as she tries to pull her boyfriend away from Impulse while Blue Beetle rebukes his scarab's suggestion of attacking Kid Flash.

Kid Flash immediately lets go as if all of his rage instantly evaporated. He takes a few steps backwards and looks at his terrified cousin. He also looks at his shaking hands before falling to his knees.

"Bart, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just that...I didn't get to apologize to Nightwing after I blew up at him."

Those who knew how close their friendship were shocked that those two would even fight.

"After the Cave was blown up, I became furious about the extreme risks Nightwing took. We thought that faking Artemis's 'death' wasn't enough to help with Kaldur's mission. When he apologized for my souvenirs getting destroyed, I lost it because I was actually worried about Artemis and that Kaldur might be a triple agent. Before storming off, I told him that he only has himself to blame if anything else goes wrong. Things got worse when I found out about M'gaan's kidnapping, but what really kills me is that despite all that, he still sacrificed himself to save me. After that whole thing with Black Canary, I now know how stressed out he must've been from carrying such a heavy workload."

Wally briefly wipes the snot running from his nose.

"That's him. That's Nightwing," said a sniffling Kid Flash. "Always worrying about those around him. He wouldn't be like this if I hadn't treated him so horribly but he just took it all in. He never thought about himself. He never does!"

"Because he cared…" replied Impulse as he watches his cousin break down in tears.

"I'm his best pal! I'm suppose to look out for him!...That's what I'm suppose to do!" cried Kid Flash as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Everyone was silently crying after listening to his speech before Wonder Girl breaks the silence. "But there's one thing I still don't get. Why didn't Nightwing tell us about his plan?"

"He-We kept this a secret because 6 years ago, Red Arrow turned out to be a Cadmus clone and unwitting mole for the Light who put the League under Savage's control. Nightwing's fear was that you guys would've made the Light suspicious if you held back during fighting," explained Aqualad.

A few seconds of contemplation passed before a female voice asks, "Do you really mean all of that, Wally?"

"Yes, I-" Wally suddenly realizes that it was an unfamiliar voice-"Wait. Who said that?"

"I did," said a female voice in the tree that Kid Flash had slammed Impulse against. Two other people are with her. The trio does a quadruple back-flip before landing on the ground. The search party gets ready to fight when they recognize them as their attackers.

"No stop! We're not here kill you guys, at least not anymore..." said the girl.

"Who are you guys and why did you want to kill us?" asked Wonder Girl. "We're only here to help."

"I'm Raya," said the girl. She takes off her helmet which sort of looks like an owl's head. The helmet has a white front with a red owl beak and a red pattern that surrounds the eyeholes, extending slightly past the top like owl tufts. The red parts make the white front look like the face of an owl.

"I'm Raymond," said a boy. He takes off his helmet which is exactly the same as Raya's helmet except the beak and the pattern are green.

"And I'm Zane," said the other boy. He takes off his helmet which has a blue beak and pattern.

"We're Dick Grayson's imaginary friends," they said in unison.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I turned Jump City ( _Teen Titans_ ) into a place inside Dick's mind. Also, I've changed Raya, Raymond, and Zane into his red haired imaginary friends. In the New 52 series, _Nightwing (Volume 3)_** , **they were Dick's friends and part of Haly's Circus. Except for the owl themed helmets, t** **he trio's superhero costumes has influences from Slade, Robin,** **and** **Red X from the _Teen Titans_ cartoon. ****The magic words, "get your cape on," is the theme song for the animated webseries on YouTube, _DC Super Hero Girls_. The elephant bags refer to Zitka, the circus elephant from Dick's childhood. Raya's line about being forgotten by Dick is based on what Jessie tells Woody in _Toy Story 2_. I don't know about Tim Drake's life in _Young Justice_ so I used his pre-New 52 life. **

The Team finally got a closer look at their attackers. The trio of redheads looked like they're around 9 years old and are as short as Garfield Logan and Billy Batson 6 years ago. Their costumes look exactly like Nightwing's costume except for the gray holographic computer gloves; gray utility belts; and a short black cape that reached the top of their thighs and had a gray interior. Each person also has an 'X' that's the same color as the design on each helmets. Each 'X' is featured on the backs and palms of the gloves as well as emblazoned on the chest. Each redhead is wearing a gray utility belt with 2 leg holsters. Gray body armor covers certain areas of their bodies: neck, collarbones, shoulders, thighs, knees, and the top and soles of the black boots.

"Wait a sec. Nightwing still has imaginary friends?" asked Robin. Those who already knew about Nightwing's past were just as confused as the others because Nightwing never mentioned he once had imaginary friends before.

"Who's Nightwing?" asked Raymond.

"The person whose mind we're in…" replied Robin.

"You mean Robin," replied Raymond.

"No. I'm Robin," said Robin.

Raya squints her eyes and walks towards Robin. Her eyes widened when it began to dawn on her. "Timmy? Is that you? You look older the last time we've met."

Robin's eyes widen in confusion and his body temperature rose. "I've never met you before and please don't call me Timmy," he stuttered because he can see Wonder Girl raised an eyebrow at him. She then giggles which made him blush. Superboy crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at the secret couple in confusion.

"Look. Do you guys know how to find Nightwing or not?" asked Robin who pinched his temples.

"I think that maybe he's in the circus or Wayne Manor. We'll go to Wayne Manor first since it's closer. If he's not there, then we'll go to the circus," said Zane before he and the other redheads start walking. "Come on! It's a long way to the mansion."

At the same time, Aqualad secretly whispers to Miss Martian to telepathically link the Team but not the red-haired trio just in case. The Team catches up to the trio.

 _"I'm not sure we can trust them since they admitted to trying to blow us up,"_ said a skeptical Lagoon Boy who turns to Miss Martian. _"Can't you probe their minds, angelfish?"_

Superboy clenches his fist and glares at Lagoon Boy.

 _"La'gaan, you know why I can't do that anymore,"_ said Miss Martian. _"Besides I can tell that they're truly sorry although-"_

Raymond stops in his track to interrupt them when he notices that the Team's silence. "Ahem. Are guys having a psychic conversation? Because that's really cool and really rude..."

The Team looks at each other nervously before Miss Martian sighs and says, "We don't know whether we should trust you guys since you admitted to trying to blow us up earlier. Besides, I was telling the others that not only can I sense that your apology was real but that there's some bitterness and anger as well."

"We want to explain along the way but we only know who half of you guys are," answered Raya. "Do the others already know about his secret identity?"

"They were going to find out eventually," said Robin. "Miss Martian, can you link the redheads with the Team?"

 _"Can you hear me?"_ asked Miss Martian.

The trio was amazed by this and answered yes in unison. After The Team introduces themselves and their real names, the expanded search party resumes walking towards Wayne Manor.

 _"Now, you said something about trying to kill us earlier. Why?"_ asked Lagoon Boy.

 _"I'll tell the story since I was created first,"_ says Raya. _"Despite being friends with the lovely performers in Haly's Circus, Dick felt lonely from being in a circus that traveled around the world so he created me when he was 3. When he was 4, Raymond and Zane were created because he wanted more."_

 _"You all have red hair..."_ commented Batgirl.

 _"Yeah like you, Roy, and Wally,"_ answered Zane. _"He had a thing for red hair for some reason."_

Batgirl and Kid Flash briefly glanced at each other.

 _"His cousin, John Grayson, same name as Dick's dad by the way, told Dick that he was getting too old to have imaginary friends. He joked that we should be given to either a foster home for imaginary friends or to 4 year old Timmy who-"_

 _"It's Tim, not Timmy,"_ groaned Robin.

Raya sighed. _"-Got an autograph and picture from Dick and his parents, like an hour before everything changed. A Gotham City mobster named Zucco tried to extort money from Mr. Haly, the circus owner. When Mr. Haly refused, Zucco secretly ordered his men to sabotage the circus rig and make it look like an accident. Dick's family died in that incident except his uncle who became paralyzed for life."_

There were gasps from those who didn't know. _"Tim was in the audience and so was billionaire Bruce Wayne."_

 _"Robin, I'm so sorry,"_ said a wide eyed Wonder Girl as she puts her hand on his shoulder.

 _"Mr. Wayne took Dick in and eventually, Dick became Robin after he found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman."_

For those who didn't know about the Batfamily's identities, that revelation was more shocking than the fact that their leader saw his parents get killed.

 _"One of Dick's first missions was successfully taking down Zucco. Unfortunately, the hero life distracted him from me, Raymond, and Zane. One night, he appeared to us in his dream and give us superhero outfits so that we could have all these adventures together and not feel lonely. We can transition between our superhero outfits and standard civvies by saying these magic words."_

The trio stops in their tracks and faces the Team. "Get your cape on!" they say in unison. Their entire bodies and clothes instantly turn into vibrant patterns that look like an up close view of the refraction of light through water droplets into rainbows. The rainbow pattern transformation lasts a few milliseconds, revealing each redhead in civvies. Miss Martian, Superboy, and Artemis notice that their civvies look like the old Daring Dangers disguises except that the color of each pattern corresponds with the color of the 'X.' Each redhead is also wearing a small shoulder bag that looks like a toy elephant. The trio repeats "get your cape on" and they're back in their superhero costumes. They put their owl themed helmets back on and the search party resumes walking.

 _"He even gave us and himself circus themed superpowers that are weaker when we're in civvies. We all have the powers of enhanced acrobatics, flight, and physically and telekinetically lift stuff 10 times our weight as well as 2 extra powers. I can turn inanimate objects and food into weapons or bring them to life. Raymond can manipulate fire and liquids, except fluids in a body. Zane can manipulate electricity and sounds. Dick can manipulate darkness and light energy. He created a whole new world called 'Jump City,' an ever expanding microcosm of the places he's been to and his experiences. The four of us continued to secretly and occasionally have adventures together until HE showed up."_ Raya bitterly points her finger at Kid Flash.

 _"Dick became friends with HIM and eventually other superheroes. Soon, we interacted even less as time went on. Jump City became darker and we wondered around unnoticed. That is, until the lightning strikes happened...Dick was m- our whole world..._ _You never forget kids like Dick but they forget you..."_

Wally tells the trio, _"_ _Guys. We didn't know._ _We're really are sorry for everything, especially me. I promise that we'll make sure Dick remembers you guys. It's the least I can do."_

 _"We'll believe it when Dick accepts your apology,"_ said a scowling Raya as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Robin felt awful because he now knew that his brother was once a happy kid. The search party comes across a bunch of color coded memory orbs. Raya comes across a faded yellow memory orb and picks it up. The orb shows Dick flexing and looking at himself at a floor mirror on his 19th birthday before putting on a tank top.

 _"Wow this is Dick Grayson now?"_ asked Raya.

 _"Yeah it is,"_ replied Batgirl.

 _"Cousin John would be so jealous right now of Dick's height and good looks,"_ said Raya who gave a sad smile.

 _"Don't forget his muscles and butt, Raya,"_ said Zane in a mischievous tone while elbowing her because he wanted to cheer her up.

"Shut up, Zane," said Raya who gives a weak smile. Batgirl and Zatanna blush at the thought of Nightwing's sexy physique. Robin pouts because he's embarrassed by how his big brother being treated like a piece of smoking hot eye candy, especially when he notices that Wonder Girl was doing it too. Raymond magically makes an elephant shaped bag appear out of thin air and uses the trunk to suck up another orb like a vacuum cleaner.

 _"What? It's imaginary,"_ he says to the Team members who are staring. He, Zane, and Raya do the same thing with a few other yellow orbs which symbolize joy. _"We've been collecting happy memories we like into a bottomless bag for a long time before being forgotten. I think that if we give these to Dick, he'll be back to normal."_

The search party walks for a few more minutes before finally reaching the gates. _"We're here,"_ said Robin. He opens the gates as the search party approaches the manor. Those who didn't know Batman's identity were dumbstruck by the sight. They continued to be in awe once inside where the lights were already turned on. Once everyone was inside, the doors suddenly shut themselves tight. Every entrance and window to the outside became metal. Everyone tries to blast and smash their way out with everything they got but nothing works.

"I don't get it. I know that none of this is real but it's not working!" complained Superboy.

"Same thing with my magic!" complained Zatanna after her magic energy blasts did no damage.

"Dick. We're here to help! Please stop this!" pleaded Kid Flash as he looks up to the ceiling. He then becomes suspicious and turns his attention to the red-haired trio. "Wait a sec. You guys set us up, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Zane.

Kid Flash walks towards the trio and stares down at them. "You didn't kill us earlier so your new plan was to befriend us with your sad story and lure us here so you can kill us and yourselves because if you guys couldn't have Dick, then nobody can."

Artemis couldn't believe that accusation. "Wally, how could you say that? M'gaan already sensed that they're not blood thirsty monsters."

An enraged Raya magically takes out a sword from her back out of thin air and points it at Kid Flash. "You take that back right now, Kid Mouth! I may still be bitter about you taking Dick away from me but don't you dare accuse me, Raymond, or Zane of planning a mass murder-suicide!"

Aqualad gets in between them and yelled, "Knock it off you guys! This isn't getting us anywhere!" The 4 redheads glare at each other as they slowly back down.

Miss Martian, exasperated by the lack of progress being made, yelled as loud as she can. "Dick Grayson, where are you?!"

There's no answer. Beast Boy commented, _"I don't mean this as a joke right now but you sound like Shaggy from Scooby Doo, sis."_ Suddenly a banner appears out of thin air above the staircase. The banner reads "Artemis this, Artemis that" in red paint.

"I don't get it. Why would Dick hate me when me, M'gaan, and Kaldur stood by him?" asked a slightly confused and scared Artemis. Suddenly Dick's old childish laughter echoes through the lobby, sending shivers down everyone's spines and making their blood run cold.

"Wh-what are you up to, Dick?! This isn't funny!" yelled Artemis.

"Not up to, Artemis. DOWN TO!" says an unrecognized voice as the lights turn off. Suddenly a giant black hole appears in the floor, sucking the search party in. They scream as they free fall before landing on a hard surface.

"Is this the Batcave?" asked Beast Boy.

'No. Looks like the cavern in Santa Prisca," answered Batgirl.

"Finally, it's about time you showed up because it was getting boring here. And no. This isn't the Batcave but the beginning of your nightmare," said the mysterious voice again in a sly tone and a slight Italian accent.

"Show yourself! Who are you and where's my brother?!" yelled Robin.

The figure steps out from a high place while chewing a toothpick. He was a Caucasian man with a lean face, high cheekbones, black hair, and a small gap between his incisors. He wore a dark blue suit with a white shirt and red tie, and a wide rimmed fedora. Kid Flash, Artemis, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, Batgirl, Robin, Rocket, Zatanna, and the red-haired trio were too shocked to move when they recognize him.

"No. It can't be," said Robin. The frozen heroes snap out of their shock and got into fighting position.

Blue Beetle asks Robin, "Who is he, hermano?"

"Zucco," answers Robin coldly while glaring at the figure.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: The number of people fighting their demons is the magic #16. Zucco using Zatanna's magic and M'gaan's telepathy to personify the Team's inner demons is based on "The End Part 2" ( _Teen Titans_ ), but I don't know what are the inner demons for some people. Defeating the inner demons is based on "The End Part 3" ( _Teen Titans_ ). Superboy and Miss Martian's comments to one another comes from John Stewart and Shayera's little chat in "Divided We Fall" ( _Justice League Unlimited_ ). The last scene is based on Wizardmon's death in "Wizardmon's Gift" ( _Digimon Adventure 01_ ).**

Nightwing's imaginary friends huddle together behind Kid Flash despite their ill feelings towards him. Artemis notices this and stands close to her boyfriend in order to provide extra cover for them.

"So you're the one who killed Nightwing's parents when he was a kid?" Beast Boy asked angrily. Seeing the killer reminded him of how his mom was killed by Queen Bee.

"Actually, I'm not the real Zucco but a manifestation of your leader's darkness from deep within his subconscious. Every negative and nasty thought he had. Depression, rage, sadness, etc," said Zucco. "Thanks to how most of you treated him"-Zucco points his finger at Kid Flash-"especially you, I was able to grow stronger before the lightning gave me life. I didn't think you people would actually come here to help him and you're going to wish you never did."

"Unless you want to fight, you're outmatched. It's 16 against 1 so just give us back Dick Grayson already!" said Wonder Girl who was secretly itching for a fight.

Aqualad could see that Zucco's hands begin to give off a black aura. _"Whatever it is that he has in store for us, it can't hurt us here as we remember that this is an illusion."_

"Let me guess. You all think that I can't hurt you here as long as you remember that this is an illusion, right?" asked Zucco before giving an evil grin. "Care to test that theory?" Everyone charges towards Zucco except Raya, Raymond, and Zane who stayed put. Zucco blasts his dark energy at the charging heroes, propelling them back. This makes Miss Martian disconnect the mind link.

"And that was just me holding back," said Zucco as an dark aura glows around him. Before Miss Martian has a chance to reestablish the mind link, Zucco fires his dark energy at her and Zatanna who scream in pain as black lightning zaps them. Raya, Raymond, and Zane are so scared that they turn their capes into owl wings and fly up before Zucco could fire at Miss Martian and Zatanna.

"M'GAAN!" yelled Superboy before he and the others instantly suffer the same fate when black lightning extends from the 2 females to the others on the ground. The horrified trio watch from above as black smoke comes out of each hero's body and begins to take shape.

* * *

 **Nightwing's room**

Superman brings coffee to Black Canary, Batman, and the Martian Manhunter. Suddenly, the Team begins to sweat and writhe under some sort of invisible torture for 4 seconds. The Martian Manhunter goes over to his niece and shouts her name twice in an effort to wake her up. The writhing suddenly stops before he could do anything else, making him and the others fear the worst.

"Wait," said Superman. He stares at each member of the search party briefly. "Their heartbeats are ok, but what was that?"

"I don't know, but I'm having a bad case of deja vu," replied Batman who caresses Nightwing's face. "Dick, where are you?"

* * *

 **Back in Nightwing's mind**

Suddenly, the Team was propelled backwards. When the smoke cleared, the Team was looking at a team of inner demons who look exactly like the originals except they're black and white with red eyes.

Zucco gave an evil laugh that echoed and said, "I may be all mighty and powerful, but you are your own worst enemies."

Nega Wonder Girl flies forward and stops right in front of Wonder Girl. "Nightwing's not the only one with a nasty side," said Nega Wonder Girl in an sly tone as close to Wonder Girl's face as possible. She throws a punch that slams Wonder Girl against the ceiling. Suddenly, Nega Rocket blasts Rocket with purple kinetic energy instead of trapping her in a force bubble because seeing her suffer was more enjoyable than seeing a quick defeat. The other inner demons soon join in. Raya, Raymond, and Zane watch as the battle unfolds beneath them.

"What does Cassie even see in you? In fact, why don't you just give up already?" asked Nega Robin while they attack each other with their bo staffs. "I bet Batman is already prepared for the worst."

Nega Robin throws an explosive shuriken that knocks Robin off balance but Robin's demon quickly gets up and doesn't shut up. "After all, isn't that how you got this gig, replacement?"

Robin responds angrily by charging towards his inner demon with his bo staff like he's jousting but Nega Robin just move to the side and zaps him with his bo staff.

Wonder Girl hears Robin's scream and flies towards him in an attempt to intervene but her ankles get tied up by Nega Wonder Girl's lasso. Nega Wonder Girl then uses the lasso to toss and throw her opponent at the wall as if the whole thing was the hammer throw at the Scottish highland games.

Nega Wonder Girl mockingly asked Wonder Girl, "Are you worried about your precious Robin? Should I let him and the others about your true feelings?"

"No you won't!" responds Wonder Girl angrily who flies forward towards her inner demon with her fist.

Beast Boy changes into different animals to fight Nega Beast Boy but whatever animal he changes into, Nega Beast Boy changes into the same animal.

"Go ahead. Run back home to mommy," taunted Nega Beast Boy. "Oh that's right. You don't have a mommy."

Nega Zatanna and Zatanna fight each other by blasting energy beams at each other but Zatanna is getting weaker as Nega Zatanna continues to taunt her. "Er'uoy ticilpmoc htiw rieht setaf. That's why the 2 most important men in your life can't help you right now."

Zatanna narrowly avoids a magic blast from Nega Zatanna and tries to turn her demon's clothes into bindings so the demon would shut up but the demon breaks out of it. Nega Zatanna uses the same spell on Zatanna.

"Why do you even bother trying to save one of them? Dick tricked you. Used you. Admit it. You wanted him gone from your life. And now, he's gonna remain trapped in a dark place forever"-a glowing Nega Zatanna then said the next words individually-"Just. Like. Your. Dad."

A furious Zatanna breaks the bindings apart. "SHUT UP!" she yelled before retaliating by trying to fire as much magic at her demon.

Superboy rubs the back of his head after he managed to briefly escape the wrath of a ballistic Nega Superboy before the latter body-slams the former and pins him on the ground. "You remind me of Match," said Superboy as he struggles to get up but his arms and legs are being twisted by his clone.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Just know that with you gone and assuming she survives, M'gaan will be all mine," whispered Nega Superboy into Superboy's ear.

"Arrgh. No, she won't!" shouted Superboy before he breaks free, punches him in the face, grabs him by his legs, and throws him like a heavy metal ball in the Scottish Highland games. Nega Superboy's body hits Nega Aqualad. Aqualad tries to escape but Nega Aqualad uses a hard water rope to trip and toss him against the rocks.

"Sorry. Not fast enough. No wonder Tula chose Garth over you," Nega Aqualad said to Aqualad.

Aqualad charges forward with tears in his eyes and attempts to attack his inner demon with hard water constructs. Aqualad's demon continues mocking him. "Aww. Did I hurt your stupid feelings?"

The same thing is happening with Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy when their evil clones taunt them about their past relationships. Miss Martian and Nega Miss Martian turn into their white martian forms. Beast Boy is briefly distracted by the transformation because he never seen his 'sister' in her white martian form before. This allows Beast Boy to get scratched in the face by his demon.

"GARFIELD!" yelled Miss Martian who gets punched by Nega Miss Martian. Both try to mentally obliterate each other, but can't because they're evenly match.

Artemis tries to kill her demon with arrows but the clone either cuts them in half with her sword or dodges them. "What makes you think you're strong enough to defeat me when you're weren't strong to keep your old family together or to protect that troll from the horrible treatment he got?" the demon asked before blowing a raspberry.

The others are also having trouble fighting their demons because the demons keep taunting the originals and are evenly matched with them. But Kid Flash's enormous sense of guilt meant that he had the most trouble fighting his demon.

"You choose your stupid girlfriend over your best friend. Do you really think the one who supported your decision to leave the hero life behind even wants you anymore? Admit it. You wanted him gone after you blew up at him. Ignored what he was going through. All because you and Artemis didn't want to lose each other."

Nega Kid Flash lifts Kid Flash over his head with both hands and uses his superspeed to spin him around before tossing him at a wall.

"Did it occur to you before you first got your powers that Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris have been dealing with that risk everyday? No."

Nega Kid Flash slams and pins Kid Flash to the ground.

"Not surprising for the slowest speedster ever. Fast on your feet but not with your brain."

Nega Kid Flash uses a wristlock on Kid Flash. "Just give up already. After all, this whole thing is ALL. YOUR. FAULT!"

Kid Flash angrily vibrates using his superspeed and flips his demon over before trying to unsuccessfully kick him in the head.

"Oops. Too slow. Out of practice. I think your new superhero name should be molasses," Nega Kid Flash laughed evilly.

Zucco is watching and enjoying the free entertainment while Raya, Raymond, and Zane are floating above the fight. Zucco almost forgot that they were there so when he sees them, he fires his dark aura beam at them but they dodge it. The trio of redheads try to attack Zucco with everything they got. Raymond blasts fire from one hand and tries to drown Zucco in a ball of water with his other hand while Zane blasts sonic sounds and electricity from his hands, but Zucco manages to fly out of the way. Raya uses her telekinesis to throw rocks and boulders at him before burying under a pile of rocks. When the trio flies down for a closer look, Zucco rises from the rocks and hold his hands up like he's being arrested.

"Wait. I'm not going to fight back but I am willing to offer you a deal. I'll let you see Dick. You three can spend time with him for the rest of eternity and all you have to do is take down those who took Dick away from you. What do you say? You know you want to."

The trio looks at each other in deep thought. Meanwhile, the battle between the search party and their demons continues. Nega Beast Boy throws the original near Miss Martian. "I had no idea that I was this tough," said Beast Boy.

"No one can fight their inner demons alone, Gar," said Miss Martian. "Wait. That's it. Everyone! Switch dance partners!"

Everyone did as Miss Martian said. Lagoon Boy and Beast Boy defeat each other's demons first. Blue Beetle blasts Nega Bumblebee with his sonic cannon. Impulse uses his faster speed to punch and trip Nega Kid Flash. Zatanna uses her magic to short circuit Nega Rocket's belt. Aqualad uses his Atlantean sorcery to Nega Blue Beetle which cause Nega Blue Beetle's armor to lost structure before knocking the demon out with a large spiked hard-water mace. One by one, most of the inner demons were defeated. The last ones still fighting were those of Miss Martian and Superboy. Miss Martian telekinetically throws a boulder at Nega Superboy when he was about to smash his boots on her. She then uses her telekinesis to repeatedly smash Superboy's inner demon with the same boulder.

"You enjoyed that a little too much," comments Superboy when Miss Martian was finished destroying the demon.

"Just blowing off some steam. He did broke my heart after all," said Miss Martian softly.

Superboy throws a punch at Nega Miss Martian's face, knocking her out. "Likewise, I'm sure," he said softly. Suddenly, the inner demons turn into bodies of white light that return to their original host bodies.

"Neptune's beard! We did it!" cheered Lagoon Boy.

"Wait! Where are Raya, Raymond, and Zane?" asked Beast Boy. Then, Zucco blasts everyone against the rocks. He throws the weakened trio of redheads at Guardian and Bumblebee because the trio fought against Zucco instead of taking up on his offer.

While the red haired kids slowly get back up on their feet, Zucco focuses his anger on Kid Flash who was with Artemis. "Your victory only prolongs your suffering, but don't worry. I'll be sure to put you out of your misery," a grinning Zucco tells Kid Flash before summoning all his energy and aiming it at the couple. They, like the rest of the Team, were too weak from fighting their inner demons to get out of the way. Even the ones with inherent superpowers couldn't do anything.

Everyone is horrified by what happens next: the ray hits the red haired trio who managed to fly into the ray's path a mere second before the ray could hit Artemis and Kid Flash; the trio falls backward towards Artemis and Kid Flash. The couple see that the owl themed helmets are broken, revealing that they were wearing domino masks that are the same color as the 'X' on their gloves.

"You guys, please don't die! You're all going to be alright!" cried Kid Flash as the trio turns their eyes at him. "Listen. I'm sorry for accusing you three of being double agents."

Zane was about to say something, but dark shadows suddenly envelop everyone before anyone could respond. This causes them to pass out.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** ** **Most of t** his chapter is partly based on "For the Man Who has Everything" ******( _Justice League Unlimited_ ) and** Pixar's _Inside Out_. First scene is based on I'm Sorry by HomocidalLunatic ****(the story is being rewritten)** **.** ** **Dick and Hal Jordan's chat references _Green Lantern: The Animated Series,_**** ** ** _Young Justice_ and _Justice League/Justice League Unlimited_**** ** **. The first 4 escapees are the Core Four from the _Young Justice_ comics (1998-2003). ******Dick's dream wife combines Zatanna (head & hairstyle) and Barbara (hair color & everything below her head); her name comes from Starfire's alias. The YJ wikia doesn't mention Tim's parents so for the sake of the story, I used ****_**Identity Crisis Vol. 1 Issues #5-6**_.**

 **Center of Nightwing's mind**

A very weak Nightwing begins to wake up. He discovers that his gloves and belt are gone and that he's blindfolded. Suddenly, he hears several voices inside his head.

 _"Miss M? Is that you?"_ asked Nightwing.

 _"Yes, it's me but I don't know where you, me and the others are,"_ said Miss Martian. _"I'm blindfolded."_

The others reported the same thing.

 _"What are you all doing here?"_ asked Nightwing. _"I thought most of you wanted me gone. After all, that's why I pushed Wally out of the way..."_

Everyone was horrified at what he said.

 _"I don't deserve to live after everything I put everyone through. I wouldn't be surprised if Batman kicked me out of the Batcave and off the Team. Besides, you would've been better off if I was dead. No one would notice or care. Some might even be happy..."_

The search party couldn't believe what he said. Nightwing really blamed himself for everything. The words were stated so bluntly as if he didn't think it wouldn't make their stomachs churn with guilt and regret. Nightwing lets his head hang low again.

 _"Listen to me. We would've been crying and in mourning if we didn't come to find and help you!"_ said Superboy.

 _"But-"_

Nightwing was going to point out how they treated him in the warehouse, but Superboy wasn't done. _"No. Let me finish. You saved the world, Nightwing. Yes, we felt betrayed and were so furious that we wanted to kick you out, but we now understand why you kept everything a secret. We're all really sorry for how we treated you. That was wrong of us to do when you put yourself through so much."_

The others repeated in agreement.

 _"...But what about the League? What about Batman?"_ asked Nightwing.

 _"He and Black Canary approved this mission,"_ said Batgirl.

 _"He's not mad?"_

 _"He would've been if we didn't rescue you. Speaking of which, how do we get out of here?"_ asked Bumblebee.

 _"Wait a minute, I don't feel Artemis or Wally here,"_ said Miss Martian. Suddenly, Nightwing feels an evil presence in the room.

"I see you're wide awake," Zucco said to Nightwing. "Now we can begin."

Zucco turns on something that causes Zatanna and Miss Martian to scream. Their pain could be felt on the mental link, causing Superboy to flip out. With all his strength, he breaks free, pulls off his blindfolds, and smashes his body through the door.

 _"M'gaan? M'gaan! Where are you?!"_ he cried mentally as he ran through the halls but there was no answer. Along the way, he frees Impulse, Robin, and Wonder Girl when he passes by their prisons. The 4 escapees see shadow creatures were coming their way, but Wonder Girl wasn't afraid.

"Lemme at them! Lemme at them!" shouted Wonder Girl as the 3 boys grab her and run.

"Your girlfriend sure is feisty," whispered Impulse to Robin.

"Shut up," said Robin. The escapees hide in a room that had Bette Kane in it. When she opened her mouth, she instantly turned into a scary screaming banshee made of fire. The 4 escapees run for their lives.

* * *

 **Memory dump, same time**

Raya, Raymond, and Zane wake up at the bottom of a canyon that's littered with faded memory orbs; some of them are dissolving into sparkling dust. When they see this when they wake up and are terrified to see that their bodies become translucent for a second. They run and yell out the names of Nightwing's teammates before tripping over Kid Flash and Artemis.

The couple wakes up and are overjoyed to see that the trio is still alive. The joy immediately evaporates when they realize how far they've fallen and that nobody else is with them.

"We're in the memory dump. It's where faded memories are discarded," said Raymond.

When Artemis discovers that her bow and arrows are gone, Kid Flash suggests that Nightwing's imaginary friends lift them and fly. When the trio tries this, they can barely even levitate a few inches off the ground. An exasperated Kid Flash starts running up a mountain of forgotten memories but keeps sliding down.

"Wally, what are you doing? Stop it, please," said Zane, but Kid Flash doesn't listen. "Don't you get it, Wally?! We're stuck down down here!...We're forgotten."

Kid Flash looks back at everyone staring at him and turns his attention a glowing blue orb. Artemis and the kids follow him as he walks over to it and picks it up. It showed his outburst at Nightwing in the Hall of Justice after the Cave was blown up. Kid Flash sees his own terrifying expression as he yelled at the acrobat. Although the orb doesn't show Nightwing's eyes, Kid Flash could imagine how heartbroken and frightened Nightwing was. After Kid Flash falls to his knees and sets the memory aside, he picks up an orb that shows Dick revealing his identity to him about 18 months before the Team was founded.

"I was the first to know his real name," said Kid Flash as tears begin to form. The next orb he picks up shows when the 3 sidekicks decided to take off for Cadmus 6 years ago. "He was so full of light and joy."

Another orb that he picks up shows Kid Flash and Artemis quitting the Team some time after Tula's death. "I just wanted to have a normal life with Artemis."

When Kid Flash picks the orb containing his outburst in the Hall of Justice, he hugs all 4 orbs before dropping them all and breaking down in tears. He could hear his inner demon repeating the taunts from earlier. Artemis and the kids couldn't do anything except but just stare at the ground with sad faces as orbs around them begin to crumble into dust. As Kid Flash cries, his tears fell on an orb that shows Dick in his Robin costume, talking with Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A curious Kid Flash picks it up and listens carefully. He gestured to the others to come in closer.

 _"Are there any other Lantern Corps besides the green one?" asked Dick._

 _"Of course," replied Hal. "There's red for rage; orange for avarice or greed; yellow for fear; indigo for compassion; and pink for love. There's also black for death and white for life. During my time in space, apart from my spaceship crew (Kilowog, Aya, and Razer); I've come across the Red Lanterns; the Blue Lanterns; the pink Star Sapphires; and a selfish, last remaining Orange Lantern. My lover actually became a Star Sapphire."  
_

 _Dick laughed and joked, "Maybe there should be a cartoon based on your adventures."_

 _Hal laughed in agreement. "_ _Imagine if there were cartoons based on the League and your team."_

 _The two guys laughed together and stopped when Hal commented, "You know. You're seen as the light to Batman's darkness. If you ever get a lantern ring, it would be green or blue because you're such a hopeful person."_

 _"Do the Blue Lanterns have their own oath?" asks Dick._

 _"All Lantern Corps do," replied Hal. "The blue one goes like this:_

 _'In fearful day_

 _In raging night_

 _With strong hearts full, our souls ignite._

 _When all seems lost in the war of light,_

 _Look to the stars,_

 _For hope burns bright.'"_

A light bulb goes off in Kid Flash's head. "Hope...This whole thing is because Dick has lost all hope."

He turns his attention to Artemis and the redheads. "We have to get back up there."

"Wally, we're not Phineas and Ferb," said Raya. "Even if I had my full powers back, I can't just turn all these memories into some sort of magic school...bus."

Raya suddenly has an idea. She turns on her holographic computer glove and punches a few buttons. "This way!" she tells the others.

"Wait!" yelled Kid Flash who gathered the 4 orbs he had picked during his breakdown. Raymond sucks them up with his elephant bag before everyone quickly follows Raya.

The group of five came across a rusty and battered bus. Once inside, Artemis and Kid Flash discover that the interior is much bigger than the exterior, similar to the TARDIS in _Doctor Who_. Raymond gives a wind up key to Artemis who unsuccessfully tries to start the bus. Instead, the bus shakes and splutters before the airbags are deployed. Kid Flash punches the airbag and slams his fists on the dashboard in frustration. Everyone gets out to inspect the unusual and rusty engine which blows smoke when the hood is opened. The trio looks at their slowly disappearing fingers and each glance at each other before they nod in agreement.

"We have an idea, but you need to keep an eye on our stuff," said Zane. "Don't want something happening to it."

The trio gives the couple their utility belts, holsters, and elephant bags. They hold their hands in a triangle and their bodies glow with energy that goes to the bus, bringing it to life. Artemis and Kid Flash are overjoyed until they see the increasingly translucent trio. When the couple holds them, Raymond weakly tells Kid Flash, "Wally, we forgive for calling us double agents earlier. We're just glad to have met and befriended you because if we didn't, our lives would've been meaningless. Just promise us that you won't let Dick slip into darkness again, OK?"

When the trio finally disappears, Artemis comforts Kid Flash who tearfully said, "I'll try, you guys. I promise."

The couple grab the trio's stuff and run back to the bus. "Wait. Wait. Hold on. Ahem. Seat belts, everyone!" said a smiling Kid Flash. A confused Artemis raised an eyebrow because her childhood didn't include _The Magic School Bus_. After Kid Flash explained the reference, Artemis stepped on the accelerator and flew the bus out of the canyon.

* * *

 **Back in the center**

"This place feels a haunted version of the mansion in _Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends_ ," commented Wonder Girl as she and the other 3 escapees run. "All we need now are some _Scooby Doo_ music and that crazy chase scene with the doors."

"What's _Scooby Doo_?" asked Impulse. The gang runs into the library where they lose the shadow creatures, but run into a dead end. Wonder Girls pulls a book off the shelf that makes the shelf open, sucking the gang into a black void. When they get back on their feet, they see Nightwing handcuffed inside a pod; a purple plant with tentacles is attached to his chest.

"Looks like a Cadmus pod," commented a scowling Superboy as Robin uses his computer glove to hack the pod's control. Wonder Girl slowly lays Nightwing on the ground.

"It's some kind of plant," said Robin who tries to shake Nightwing, but there's no response.

"He's barely breathing," said Superboy.

"Pupils aren't contracting even slightly," said Robin who points a flashlight at Nightwing's eyes. "Must be cut off from all sensation. Dick, where are you?"

* * *

 **Nightwing's imagination**

 _The alarm clock goes off, waking up Dick. After Dick brushed his teeth and washed his face, he walks downstairs and makes breakfast. The female redhead and 3 little red haired kids arrive._

 _"Dick, I hope you don't eat cereal at the family BBQ" said the woman. She_ _has a slender and fairly muscular build. Her red auburn hair is wavy with strands hanging over her ears to frame her face._ _  
_

 _"Of course not, Kory. It's only a fast and easy way to burn energy for someone who's constantly burning energy," answered Dick._

* * *

 **Nightwing's prison**

"It's called the Black Mercy," said Zucco who was standing at the entrance and now looked like a gargoyle. "It's a telepathic species that Hal Jordan told him about. It reads the heart's desire and feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation of it."

"So he's dreaming?" asks Robin.

"Oh, far deeper than that. All I did was use the same method I used to create your evil clones. I wonder where he thinks he is. Being the center of attention under the big top, wishing he had never met you pathetic excuses for teammates."

A triggered Wonder Girl charges forwards and punches him a few times which does little damage. Wonder Girl looks at her hurt knuckles and thought that Zucco is as strong as Black Beetle or Mongul.

"You don't understand. The lightning and darkness has made me more powerful than your own inner demons will ever be," said Zucco as he walks forward. Superboy tries to punch him but Zucco grabs Superboy's fist and throws him so hard at the wall that he creates a hole to the other room. Robin tries to zap him with a charge from his bo staff but Zucco blast dark energy at him. When Zucco stares at Robin with an evil grin, Wonder Girl lifts Zucco over her head from behind and smashes Zucco's head into the floor.

"How nice of you to volunteer"-Zucco takes his head out-"to be the first one to die." Zucco swats Wonder Girl through the hole in the wall that Superboy made earlier. Impulse goes after them and uses his superspeed to repeatedly punch Zucco which felt like punching Tommy Terror. Robin tries to use a laser pen to cut the Black Mercy in half, but it doesn't work. He hears Wonder Girl briefly yell when Zucco tossed her at a shelf with Kids Next Door style weapons. He tosses Superboy and Impulse at her.

"He'll kill her, Dick, and then he'll kill us all. Snap out of it already! Please," begged Robin.

Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Impulse take up arms and aim them at Zucco who condescendingly asked, "Oh, dear. Are those 2x4 technology?"

"Go to hell," said Wonder Girl before they firing their weapons.

"Nothing's working!" complained Robin after he broke his bo staff by using it to unsuccessfully pry the plant off. Robin hears a few blasts. "Cassie, Conner, and Bart are fighting for their lives, Dick. You've got to fight too."

The weapons have little effect on Zucco who breaks it with his bare hands. Zucco punches the 3 people, grabs them by their necks and says, "First, I'll kill you three and the Boy Wonder. Then I'll break free into the real world."

"You won't win," said Impulse who struggled to breath as Zucco strangles them.

"Of course I will," said Zucco before throwing them on the ground and stomping on them.

"Yes. That's it. Fight it, Dick. Fight it," says Robin as the Black Mercy begins to loosen its hold on Nightwing whose eyes begin to twitch.

* * *

 **Nightwing's imagination**

 _At the family BBQ, Dick hears a voice echoing around him but nobody else hears it. "Fight it," the voice says which gives Dick a headache. His kids, who were talking with Dick's parents, notice this and ask him what's wrong.  
_

 _Raya, Raymond, and Zane. When you three were born, they were the happiest days of my life._ _When I first saw your beautiful little faces, your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight, like you never wanted to let go._ _I've watched every step, every struggle._ _But I-_ _don't think you're real. I don't think any of this is real._

 _"Don't say that, Daddy. Please. You're scaring us," said Zane.  
_

 _No, no. I don't want to scare you, Zane," said Dick. "You, your siblings, my parents- This is everything I ever wanted in life._

 _"What's going on here?" asked Mary Grayson.  
_

 _"Dick, what's wrong?" asked John Grayson._

 _"Mom. Dad. I'm sorry, but I've got responsibilities. I have to go now," Dick said tearfully. The entire place is dissolving into rainbow bubbles as the group comes together for a big hug.  
_

 _"Daddy," said the kids in unison._

 _"Dick," said Dick's parents in unison._

 _"I promise you, I'll never forget."_

* * *

 **Nightwing's prison**

"Yes!" exclaimed Robin as the Black Mercy finally lets go of Nightwing.

Suddenly the plant attaches itself to Robin who turns away from Nightwing before falling on his knees; he tries to resist but fails. He hears the echo of Batgirl yelling, "Get back to the house, now! Your dad is next!

* * *

 **Robin's dream**

 _Tim runs upstairs as fast as he can, stripping away the Robin costume. Once he enters the kitchen, Captain Boomerang bursts through the door with a big boomerang in his right hand, but Jack shoots Captain Boomerang's right hand. Jack lunges forwards, grabs Captain Boomerang's right wrist, holds it up high, and begins to repeatedly punch him._

 _"Yes!" exclaims a smiling Tim as Batman puts both hands on Tim's shoulders. Jack alternates between punching him in the face and stomach._

* * *

 **The prison**

Dick snaps out of the trance when he hears heavy pounding. Upon seeing that the Black Mercy was attached to Robin, Dick becomes so enraged that he doesn't pry it off of Robin's chest. Instead, he quickly hacks the prison security system to release the remaining prisoners and quickly flew towards the source of the heavy pounding.

Superboy and Impulse are down, and Wonder Girl slowly gets up. Zucco was about to finish her off when a black blur slams Zucco. Wonder Girl was dumbstruck by what she's seeing.

"Get the Black Mercy off of Robin! That's an order!" Nightwing yelled as he repeatedly punches Zucco.

"Got it, boss!" she said before Nightwing slams his fists on Zucco so hard that Zucco falls through the floor. Wonder Girl groans as she quickly walks because the beating from Zucco has made her too weak to even levitate a few inches off the ground.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Nightwing asked in a soft and deadly tone. Nightwing punches Zucco a few more times before Zucco kicks Nightwing in the stomach with his feet.

"I used your friends' powers to create a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your heart's desire. Must've have been like tearing off your own arm," said Zucco before grabbing Nightwing's head.

When Wonder Girl arrives, Robin was on his knees facing away from her so she tries to call out his first name.

"Happy early birthday, circus brat. I give you oblivion," said Zucco as he strangles Nightwing.

"Burn," replied Nightwing as he fires electricity from his eskrima sticks.

Wonder Girl hears Zucco's scream echoing before getting up and walking over Robin. She tries to pull the plant off of Robin's chest with what little strength she had left which was difficult even for her.

"Tim!" she cries out.

* * *

 **Robin's dream**

 _"Get him, Dad, get him!" cheered Tim as he and Batman watch Jack punch Captain Boomerang 5 more times before Tim hears the echo of Wonder Girl desperately yelling out his name as loud as she can._

 _"TIM!"_

 _Jack punches Captain Boomerang 4 more times before Boomerang gains the upper hand by kicking Jack in his crotch._

* * *

 **The prison**

The secret couple fall backwards away from each other once the plant finally comes off of Robin's chest. Robin watches as Wonder Girl struggles to keep the plant from attaching itself onto her.

"You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy the Black Mercy granted you," said Zucco before he charges at Nightwing who trips him. Nightwing quickly grabs Zucco by his ankles and tosses him at the wall before repeatedly punching him in the face.

"Happy?! Do you know what I've lost?! What I had to put up with?!"

Zucco punches Nightwing in the stomach and was about to blast him with dark energy.

"Excuse me," said Wonder Girl who was with Robin, Impulse, and Superboy. "But I think this is yours." She throws the Black Mercy at Zucco but he destroys it with his dark energy before it could attach itself to him.

Soon the other prisoners have arrived, ready to fight until a yellow and black minibus smashes into Zucco.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Kid Flash's first line is from Rita Moreno ( _The Electric Company_ ). ****Rocket and Beast Boy panicking is from Keesha and Wanda, respectively ( _The Magic School Bus_ ). ****Robin cheering on his giant big brother is from Kari supporting Angewomon's fight against LadyDevimon in "Joe's Battle" ( _Digimon Adventure_ ). ****The final battle is based on "The End Part 3" ( _Teen Titans_ ).** **Nightwing's warning Kid Flash is based on Mai warning Zuko not to break up with her again in "Sonzin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang" ( _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ ). Artemis giving Wally multiple small slaps is from _Archer Vice_. Their conversation is based on the end of "Legends Part 2" ( _Justice League_ ). Miss Martian's advice is from "Crush" ( _Kim Possible_ ). Wonder Girl and Robin bumping into each other is from _American Dragon: Jake Long_ ; Mae Whitman, Wonder Girl's voice actor, was in both shows. Wonder Girl's "Whatcha doin'?" phrase is from _Phineas and Ferb_. The "gigantic cheese" quote is from "Heart of Archness: Part I" ( _Archer_ ). ****The love scene is from _Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo_. ****Nightwing's song is PelleK's English cover of** **Ayumi Miyazaki's "Brave Heart" ( _Digimon Adventure_ ) and it's on YouTube.**

When the smoke clears, everyone slowly approaches the wreck. They get into fighting position when the back doors were kicked open.

"HEY, YOU GUY-Y-Y-Y-YS!" yelled Kid Flash before he comically fell flat on his face on the floor, followed by the back doors falling off of its hinges. Artemis comes out and helps him.

"You're alive!" cheered Miss Martian as Artemis and Kid Flash run towards the others. Kid Flash is overjoyed to see Nightwing, but Nightwing flinches back at the sight of Kid Flash.

"Dude, relax," Kid Flash said calmly as he puts his hands up as if he's surrendering to police. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I swear." Nightwing notices the stuff that Artemis and Kid Flash were carrying. Before he could ask them about it, Zucco pushes the minibus away from him.

"No!" he yelled, revealing scratches all over his body. "You ruined everything!"

An exasperated Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You would've gotten away with it if it wasn't us meddling blah, blah, blah. It's over, man. Besides, do you mind? I'm trying to reconcile with someone here."

Zucco growled and narrowed his eyes. He stretched his arms upwards and opened his palms faced as lightning flowed from the air through his body. "I SHOULD BE THE ONE WALKING FREELY IN THE REAL WORLD AFTER BEING REPRESSED FOR SO LONG! ME! AND THAT'S JUST WHAT I'M GOING TO GET, EVEN IN SPITE YOU MEDDLING KIDS AND YOUR CIRCUS BRAT LEADER!" proclaimed Zucco as the floor shook and strong winds blew everything everywhere.

Aqualad orders Rocket to create a force bubble around the Team after ordering everyone to huddle together. A split second later, there was a flash of bright light and a blast. The blue bubble landed outside of what looked like the mothership from the disastrous simulation 6 years ago. When Rocket turned off her bubble and everyone got back on their feet, a series of explosions occur in the mothership. A pair of giant gargoyle hands comes out of it and slam on the ground.

"Oh, bad! Oh, bad! Oh, bad, bad, bad!" said a panicking Rocket when Zucco emerges from the mothership as a giant gargoyle.

"I'll make sure none of you will ever wake up from this nightmare!" he boomed.

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" asked a panicking Beast Boy.

"Attack him with everything we got," said Aqualad. Everyone did as Aqualad commanded except Nightwing who was having a bad case of deja vu and is curled up into a ball because Zucco was now even bigger and more powerful than before. Nightwing suddenly hears the voices of 3 little kids inside his head who said,

 _"In fearful day_

 _In raging night_

 _With strong hearts full, our souls ignite._

 _When all seems lost in the war of light,_

 _Look to the stars,_

 _For hope burns bright."_

Then, Dick hears Zucco cry in pain and is amazed by what he sees. _"I don't believe it. They're hurting him. Despite everything that happened, they're willing to fight him for me,"_ Nightwing thought as he watched the scene unfold. Robin threw birdarangs that exploded into ice on Zucco's eyes; Miss Martian's brain blast gave Zucco a headache; Aqualad created a hard-water serpent; Zatanna blasted magic; Blue Beetles fired sonic blasts; Artemis fired trick arrows; Impulse and Kid Flash created tornadoes; Superboy tosses Beast Boy, who changed into a rhino, at Zucco; Wonder Girl threw giant rocks; etc.

However, the victory became short lived when Zucco grew shadow based tentacles that tried to grab the fighters one by one and squeeze them a little. The first victim was Kid Flash who begged as loud as he can. "Dick, I know I've been a terrible jerk to you and if you don't wanna talk to me again after this, that's fine, but we need your help. Please, I'm so sorry." Zucco threw him in Nightwing's direction. Kid Flash becomes unconscious upon hitting Nightwing who tries to unsuccessfully shake him back to consciousness.

"Get up! Wally, please! Get up!" cried Nightwing. By now, he was surrounded by an unresponsive and defeated Team. _"Just like the circus again,"_ he thought. When Nightwing noticed that the familiar stuff that Artemis and Kid Flash had on them were now gone, Zucco loomed over Nightwing and sneered at him.

"You can't save them or yourself. What good are you to them when you couldn't even save your own family?" asked Zucco. With that statement, Nightwing finally had enough. His courage came back when one of his tears hits the ground and his body is enveloped in an aura of yellow, blue, red, green, and purple. When it stopped, he had turned into a giant with owl wings. Nightwing punches him hard in the stomach, sending him flying.

"I can't completely extinguish the darkness because it's a part of me, but it doesn't mean darkness can control my mind anymore," said a flying Nightwing as everyone else began to wake up. They looked towards the sky and see Nightwing and Zucco attacking each other as flying giants engaged in hand-to-hand combat and firing energy beams out of their hands.

"Robin, I know he's your big hermano, but this is ridiculous," said Blue Beetle.

Robin didn't listen and yelled, "GET HIM, NIGHTWING! THAT'S RIGHT! KICK THAT DEMON'S BUTT!"

Zucco fires a stronger dark energy beam, causing Nightwing to crash to the ground and almost crushing his teammates. Nightwing quickly fires at Zucco again, but is struggling. He almost steps on his ex-girlfriend when he steps backwards, but Kid Flash rescues Zatanna just in time and Nightwing apologized. Kid Flash whispers to Miss Martian to telepathically order the others to hold hands and recite the Blue Lantern oath in unison. Upon doing so, white energy transferred from them to Nightwing, allowing him to blast enough energy to turn Zucco into smoke.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" he echoed as the smoke slowly disappeared and the black and white environment turned into dull colors.

When Nightwing glowed and turned back to normal, he faints. Kid Flash catches him in his arms and tries to shake him, but he's unresponsive, causing him to freak out. "Dude, not again! Wake up!" he cried, but Nightwing still isn't responding.

Batgirl suddenly has an idea and whistles for everyone to shut up. She cleared her throat and yelled as loud as she can. "BATGIRL SUCKS!"

"OW!" cried Kid Flash Flash when an awakened Nightwing instantly punches him in the face.

"WHO SAID THAT?!" yelled Nightwing. Kid Flash manages to get out of the way when Zatanna and Batgirl rushed over to kiss Nightwing. He notice a guilty-looking Kid Flash and walks over to him before they finally reconcile with each other with a hug.

"Thank you," he said before he pushes him away and gives him a stern look. "But don't ever. Do that to me. Again," warned Nightwing as Kid Flash's eyes follow Nightwing's left index finger poke him in the left collarbone. Kid Flash gives his best friend a weak smile in response. "Same thing for the most of you guys," he said to the others before hugging Kid Flash as tight as he could.

"Dude, you're crushing me," said Kid Flash who struggled to breathe as Nightwing lifts Kid Flash slightly off the ground.

Nightwing releases him and smirks. "Hehe. Well, I am taller and stronger than you now. Besides, just because you're not part of the Team anymore doesn't mean you don't need to work out."

"Ahem. Nightwing, are you able to wake up and take control of your own body?" asked Miss Martian.

"Only one way to find out," replied Nightwing.

* * *

 **Nightwing's room, June 23, a few minutes after midnight**

The search party finally begins to wake up; their foreheads were sweaty and their bodies felt weak.

"What happened in there?" asked Batman.

"Batman?" asked Nightwing. His weak voice silenced all those in his room. Batman hugged him tightly.

"Weak. Weak," said Nightwing which causes Batman to immediately release him from the tight embrace.

"Dick, can you hear me?" asked Miss Martian as her eyes glowed.

"Yes. I can control my own body again but I feel weak," Nightwing responded.

"Hang in there. We'll be back in a few minutes," said Miss Martian before Nightwing nodded. Miss Martian repeats what Nightwing told her to Batman.

""There's still more work to be done," said Miss Martian. "I'll work as hard and fast as I can tonight, but I need to have a few private minutes with the rest of the search party first. Uncle J'onn, can you take over for me, please?"

The Martian Manhunter agrees and the search party steps out of the room. Once they were outside and the door closes, Miss Martian to telepathically link up the others.

 _"Nightwing's imaginary friends are gone,"_ said Miss Martian. _"I don't know if we should tell him because it might affect the process."_

 _"We'll tell him when the time is right, after he's fixed,"_ said Aqualad. _"We can tell the others, but tell Nightwing a different version."_ The others agreed and went back inside.

"Ok, we're back," said Miss Martian, but Black Canary shushes them.

"They're having a private moment together," she said. Batman and the Martian Manhunter come back to the physical world.

Batman asked Miss Martian, "I trust that you and the others can take care of everything from here?" They nodded yes.

"Don't worry, Bruce. We got this," said Beast Boy who suddenly realized his mistake when the room went almost silent.

"Hehe. Spoilers," joked Impulse before Kid Flash elbowed him in the stomach.

"When we go back in there, we'll tell him that you approved this mission despite it involving an invasion of privacy," said Miss Martian to Batman who glared at them to keep their mouths.

* * *

 **Paula Crock's apartment, June 23, late afternoon**

Wally and Artemis went to Paula's apartment. Paula was home, but the couple didn't expect Jade and Lian to be present too. After some hugging and catching up, Wally and Artemis were getting ready to leave when Jade puts her sai to Wally's left cheek.

"Remember, I got my eye on you," she said.

"Jade! No weapons when the baby is around," said Paula Crock.

"Yes, mother," said Jade in a monotonous tone as she slowly pulls her sai away from Wally.

"Go threaten your own redhead boyfriend," said Artemis who was carrying Lian in her arms before handing her back to Jade. After everyone finished saying their goodbyes, Artemis and Wally were walking out of the building when Wally joked, "Must be the red hair. Asian chicks dig redheads."

Artemis immediately begins to pelt Kid Flash's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Artemis, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" complained Wally before Artemis finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," said Wally.

"Troll," said Artemis before she noticed Wally was sad.

"Wally, what's wrong?" asked Artemis. "My mom forgave you."

"It's not that," he answered.

"Well, what is it, then? I didn't slap you that hard."

"It's stupid, really. I don't get why I feel like this. I mean...they weren't even real," said Kid Flash who didn't even bother to look at Artemis. Artemis knew who Wally was referring to.

"They gave their lives for us. That seems real enough for me," said Artemis who holds onto Kid Flash's left arm to comfort him; they both look up into the sky.

* * *

 **Watchtower, June 23, same time**

Miss Martian, who was taking a break, gave some advice to Wonder Girl. Her advice echoed inside Wonder Girl's head. _"Cassie, telling a boy you like him is like getting into a really cold pool. Deep breath, then take the plunge."_

A sad Robin was approaching Jason Todd's hologram when he and Wonder Girl bumped into each other.

"Oh sorry for-" said Robin before he stared into Wonder Girl's eyes and smiled at her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," said a smiling Wonder Girl before there was an awkward silence between them. They were both looking away from each other.

 _"Come on, Cassie. Don't just stand here sweating like a gigantic cheese. Do something!"_ Wonder Girl thought.

 _"Come on, Tim. Don't just stand here sweating like a gigantic cheese. Do something!"_ Robin thought.

"So...Whatcha doin'?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Just came here to contemplate. I overheard Batman wanting Nightwing to temporary leave the Team because of this whole incident. Aqualad and Batgirl are going to be in charge, but I'm worried that when I become leader one day, I might have to do something similar to what Dick did." Robin's voice becomes more nervous. "If and when that happens, what if it goes wrong? What are the consequences and aftermath?"

"Tim. Calm down. You. Me. The others. That whole thing was our fault." Wonder Girl sighed. "Listen, you may not have your brother's confidence, hopefulness"-Wonder Girl started acting as if her eyes turned into twinkling stars when she remembered carrying Nightwing from his pod and could feel his sculpted butt and muscles.-"dreamy eyes, big muscles, those abs or tight butt..."

Robin facepalmed himself upon hearing his secret crush basically admit to sexually fantasizing about his brother. "Cassie!"

Wonder Girl turns as red as a tomato. "Sorry. Besides, if you actually do a secret plan without telling anyone, especially me, I can't promise you that I won't get feel angry, hurt, or confused, but I'll try to remember to let you explain yourself and understand. Ok?"

Robin smiled. "Thank you, Cassie." Both of them hug.

"I don't what I do if I lose you because...well, I love you," said Wonder Girl.

It was Robin's turn to be red as a tomato. He stuttered and said gibberish. _"Bruce and Dick are better at this than I am,"_ he thought.

"Tim?" said Wonder Girl.

"Cassie?" asked Robin.

"Stop talking," said Wonder Girl before she leans in and finally kisses him. In the distance, Batgirl was hiding in the trees while Miss Martian was levitating next to her in camouflage mode. Batgirl had videotaped the entire scene.

 _"Called it,"_ Batgirl said on the mind link.

 _"About time too,"_ said Miss Martian.

* * *

 **Nightwing's room, June 23, bedtime**

By now, Dick was told that Batman approved the mission despite the risk and invasion of privacy. However, the story of what happened inside his mind excluded any mention of his imaginary friends.

Miss Martian had been working as hard and fast as she could fixing Dick's mind. To speed things up, Dick suggested that the former search party be invited back into his mind for a special treat. Once everyone was present, they were seated inside of a big circus tent. There was a puff of smoke and Dick appeared in a red ringmaster costume with gold accents and blue fingerstripes. He cracks a whip and replicas of current and past Team members whom Dick was close to appeared: Zatanna, Roy (the clone), Wally, Barbara, Tim, Kaldur, Conner, M'gaan, Jason, and Artemis. Each replica wore circus clothes. Dick turned his eskrima sticks into a cane and ordered the replicas to combine work together while showing his/her special talents.

Replica Conner- superstrength; high jumps; flight

Replica Jason- pyrokinesis and explosions

Replica Kaldur- Atlantean sorcery

Replica Wally- small cyclones; superspeed; basic gymnastics; food manipulation

Replicas Artemis and Roy- marksmanship with arrows and knives

Replica Tim- bo staff that generates electrical constructs; flight

Replica M'gaan- partial invisibility; telekinesis; flight; command animals; density shifting

Replica Zatanna- turns inanimate objects into animals; change object size; teleportation

Replica Barbara-control inorganic and inanimate objects, especially high tech stuff; martial arts, gymnastics

When the replicas finished their act, the replicas faded away. It was Dick's turn and his act was the final one. He uses his shadow and light based powers to turn the big tent into a Broadway stage and created a self operating set of instruments.

"Before I begin, I just want to say a few words. We tend to view darkness as something that needs to be avoided, but it can sometimes help to acknowledge the hardships that we face. As long as we have people around us who understand and can help, there's no need to suppress darkness or allow it to consume you. Now with that out of the way, here's the grand finale that will have you totally feeling the aster."

The instruments start playing and he starts singing.

 _Now and then, I know you wanna quit and give up,_

 _But keep on going,_

 _'Cause only you can walk this path that has been,_

 _Laid out only for you,_

 _We rise and fall,_

 _I can't recall If I ever seen,_

 _You afraid or insecure,_

 _You're not the quitting type,_

 _You stand your ground,_

 _Seize! The days and the dreams you have,_

 _Protect! The people you care about,_

 _You'll be the Hero that we need,_

 _But didn't deserve,_

 _Unknown! Powers dwell in your heart,_

 _And when! It's fire was lit it will,_

 _Explode and our wishes!_

 _However ambitious!_

 _Will grant us a whole new start,_

 _Show me your Brave Heart._

While Dick sang and the instrumental part took over, he grew owls wings and his body emitted an aura of yellow, sadness, red, green, and purple. The colors of the environment outside the stage began to turn from dull to bright. Everyone couldn't believe that Nightwing could sing and that he sounded like Jesse McCartney, something that made Barbara, Zatanna, and Cassie scream. Tim smiled even though it was embarrassing to see his girlfriend scream like a fangirl.

 _Not all days are sunny,_

 _Sometimes rain will appear,_

 _From the blue sky,_

 _But make the rain your friend,_

 _Find an umbrella and keep your chin up,_

 _Smile through the night!_

 _No map can lead,_

 _You to your ultimate destiny,_

 _Only you really know,_

 _That is the beauty of being free,_

 _Run! Faster than the wind,_

 _Aim! Farther than the skies,_

 _Discover a side of yourself,_

 _You never knew,_

 _Unknown! Courage deep in your heart,_

 _And when! The time is right your story will,_

 _Unfold and our trials,_

 _The tears and the miles,_

 _You walk to a whole new start,_

 _Show me your Brave Heart._

While the guitar solo played, Dick made translucent non-speaking replicas of Tula, Giovanni Zatara, Marie Logan, and Tim's parents appear as special gifts just for this occasion.

 _Seize! The days and the dreams you have,_

 _Protect! The people you care about,_

 _You'll be the Hero that we need,_

 _But didn't deserve,_

 _Unknown! Powers dwell in your heart_

 _And when! It's fire was lit it will,_

 _Explode and our wishes!_

 _However ambitious!_

 _Will graaaaaaaant_

 _us a whole new staaart..._

* * *

 **Nightwing's room, July 4 early afternoon**

Nightwing's mind was completely fixed. After giving Beast Boy back the stuff that he had rescued prior to the Cave being blown up, Nightwing had asked Batman and members of the former search party to come to his room.

"Where's Kaldur?" asked Nightwing.

"He'll come back tomorrow. My king wanted to speak with him about something in Atlantis, but I don't know what's it about," answered Lagoon Boy.

Nightwing sighed. "You'll have to tell him when you see him."

Robin knew what this was about. He had been dreading this moment for almost a week.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: The dialogue with Robin, Wonder Girl, and Static is from what was cut from the season 2 finale. Artemis giving multiple quick slaps on Nightwing's face is from _Archer Vice_. Wally references the _Kim Possible_ theme song. Nightwing's request to Artemis and Wally is from the ending of "Ancient History" ( _Justice League Unlimited_ ). Other references include the _Super Sons_ , _Young Justice: Outsiders_ , _Teen Titans_ , and _DC Superhero Girls_. Crispin Freeman, the voice of Arsenal and Red Arrow, can sing opera. Based on the order given, voice actors on the show who have sung in the past include Lacey Chabert, Alyson Stoner, Jason Spisak, Mae Whitman, Jason Marsden, and Khary Payton. The final song is Morgan Berry's English cover of Kouji Wada's "Butter-Fly~tri. Version~" ( _Digimon Adventure tri._ ). The magic #16 appears here. Moscow is also the place where the "Bedlam" clip ( _Young Justice: Outsiders_ ) takes place.**

 **Watchtower, July 4, a few hours before midnight**

Cat Grant is reporting live from UN where a special Fourth of July celebration is being held as the Green Lanterns escort a Reach ship. Outside the Watchtower, Blue Beetle smiles as the escort passes by him. His scarab said to him, "The Green Lanterns escort the Reach to stand trial before the Guardians of the Universe, thus completing your triumph over those who sought to use you against your own world. It is over, Jaime Reyes."

Elsewhere, the atmosphere wasn't so joyful. Inside the ship, the Scientist tells the Ambassador and the unarmored Black Beetle that she should've been allowed to complete her research into the scarab problem, but they glare her into silence.

Superman, Batman, Black Canary, and Captain Atom were watching Cat Grant's report. When her report is over, G. Gordon Godfrey takes over.

"Sounds like someone's finally listening to old G. Gordon, The lone voice of reason, calling for the ouster of U.N. Secretary General Tseng after his disastrous collaboration with the Reach. Well, guess what, folks. Tseng finally resigned. You're welcome. Now, his successor has not yet been chosen, but I think we all know only one man qualifies. The man responsible for saving all our lives from the Reach's MFD's, Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lex Luthor!"

"You have got to be kidding me," said Superman before turning off the broadcast in disgust.

"And on that note, I officially turn over my chairmanship of the League to you," said Captain Atom.

"Wow. Thanks so much," said Black Canary sarcastically.

Nearby, Aqualad and Nightwing are walking together. Aqualad was happy when Lagoon Boy told him that there is going to be a new member joining the Team because it meant additional help. However, he wasn't happy when he told him about Nightwing leaving.

"This is no time for you to resign," said a desperate Aqualad.

"I'm not resigning, just taking a leave of absence," replied Nightwing. "Besides, if you need help, Barbara's more than ready to step up."

"Agreed. But, Dick-"

"I need a break, Kaldur. I would never be able to live with myself if you and the others actually did die inside my head."

Aqualad sighed. "I understand."

"Don't worry, I promise to come back soon when I'm refreshed. Can't let you and Barbara handle the Team all by yourselves now that there's a new member. And who knows. Maybe the roster will change again when I'm away."

This leaves Aqualad to wonder who will join. _"Maybe another magician or archer."_

* * *

 **memorial garden**

"You look good," said Artemis as she and Wally approached Bart in his new costume. Bart is now the new Kid Flash after Wally gave the mantle to him.

"Thanks. And what about you guys?" replied the new Kid Flash.

"We're retired unless there's an emergency. There won't be any fake deaths any time soon," said Artemis.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the garden were Wonder Girl, Robin, and Virgil Hawkins.

"Welcome to the Team, Virgil," said Wonder Girl.

"Call me 'Static,'" replied the newest member.

"Catchy. So, what about your pals? I take it they declined our invitation?" asked Robin

"Well, Arsenal was always more of a solo act. And the others are getting out of the game. Neut went back to his foster family, and Eduardo moved in with his dad. Even Tye went home. I guess his mom's evil boyfriend is out of the picture."

"And Asami?" asked Wonder Girl.

"She's staying with Tye and his mom. Turns out she and Tye kinda had a thing. And none of us knew."

Wonder Girl and Robin are secretly hold hands behind their backs. "It happens," they said in unison.

Nearby are Superboy and Miss Martian. "Since when are Tim and Cassie a couple?" asks Superboy.

"Since the near death experience inside Nightwing's head. It was kind of a 'life is short' thing. It gave Cassie the courage to kiss him," replied Miss Martian.

"Well, that kind of courage-" said Superboy before Miss Martian finished the sentence for him.

"Can be hard to come by."

"Team, report to the mission room," said Aqualad over the intercom.

* * *

 **mission room**

The new Team assembles in the mission room. Static couldn't believe that he was already being given an assignment just after joining the Team. Facing the Team were Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Superman, Black Canary, Aquaman, the Flash, and Black Lightning.

"Having stopped the Reach invasion and broken the Light in half, the Team will now operate out of the Watchtower, side by side with the League. Not because Mount Justice was destroyed, but because you earned it," said Batman.

"And so, we'll leave you to it," added Black Canary before she and the other Leaguers walk away.

"This Team has had successes, but much remains to be done. Superboy, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, you're Alpha. B'arzz O'oomm has called from Mars. He needs help. Tigress, Kid Flash, Bumblebee, Guardian, you're Beta. LexCorp is bringing out the Reach soft drink under a new name. We need proof," said Aqualad.

"Business as usual," Nightwing said to himself as he watches everything from a distance before heading to the bathroom; then checking on Zatanna; and finally stopping by the memorial garden.

"The rest of you are Gamma and will investigate Batgirl's lead on Vandal Savage's next move," ordered Kaldur.

* * *

 **Memorial garden, 16 minutes later**

"I eagerly await your return home, Master Dick," said Alfred on the holographic communicator.

"Me too, Alfred. Thank you, I'll see you in a few minutes," said Nightwing who was about to head for the Zeta-tubes when Batgirl arrived. With the Team already gone, she finally shows him her video of Robin and Wonder Girl talking and kissing for the first time. Nightwing smiled and thought about when he hugged Robin following the former's announcement that he was temporarily leaving the Team. Artemis and Wally arrive after Batgirl kisses Dick goodbye and leaves.

"Hey man...are you sure you don't want to stay at our place? It's the least we-I mean-I could do after everything that happened," said Wally guiltily.

Nightwing just smiled at them. "Nah. You two go ahead and enjoy yourselves. You both deserve it. Besides, I don't want to be around listening to you guys trying to make a baby."

Artemis immediately begins to pelt Nightwing's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Artemis, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" complained Nightwing before Artemis finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," said Nightwing.

"Troll," said Artemis before the 3 friends laughed each other.

"Well, if you need anything, just call me beep if you wanna reach," joked Wally. The 3 friends chuckled before Nightwing said, "Well, there's one more thing I need from you and it's not another fake death. Just let me call Alfred because this might take a while."

While he and Alfred talked for several seconds. Artemis and Wally gulp and their heartbeats begin to increase because they thought that they might know what he wants. When Nightwing was done talking to Alfred, he turned his attention to the couple. Instead of looking angry, he smiled weakly and gestured for them to sit on the grass. He took a deep breath in and out before making the request.

"Tell me about Raya, Raymond, and Zane..."

* * *

 **Apokolips, July 5**

It's been a little more than 2 week since the Warworld passed by Rimbor just as the formerly imprisoned Leaguers were walking down the street. Vandal Savage had declared via three holographic monitors to those on Rimbor and the whole galaxy that Earth off-limits to all incursion or invasion, and threatens those who breach Earth's security with retribution.

Savage, on board the Warworld, finally arrives at Apokolips where Darkseid was waiting for him. As Savage exits through a Boom tube, he walks past Desaad and G. Gordon Godfrey. When Savage reaches the end to meet with Darkseid, they both give each other a vigorous handshake.

"Business as usual," said Savage to Darkseid.

* * *

 **Apartment of the clone Roy Harper in Washington, D.C., July 6 _  
_**

During the time Nightwing was being fixed, Green Arrow, Artemis, and Wally helped Roy fix his apartment. After dinner, Dick could finally gave his account since Roy was never told about the incident in the Arctic. Green Arrow feared that if Roy knew, he would join the search party and be lost.

"Man I wish I could've seen your performance. Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened," said Roy who had been silent throughout the entire thing while holding Lian in his arms. Dick sighed.

"I could always just re-imagine them and it would be just like old times but..."-Dick briefly stared at Lian-"I'm not a kid anymore..."

"We all have to grow up at some point, Dick," replied Roy. "So where do you go from here?"

"Well, can you drive me to the airport tomorrow morning?" asked Dick. "I have a flight to Munich tomorrow where Mr. Haly will be giving a show this week. It's been so long since I've seen him. I'll be travelling across Eurasia for 16 days."

"Sure."

"Thank you and thanks for letting me see Lian by the way."

"You're welcome and thanks for helping me clean up this place and for babysitting Lian. I wanted Jade to watch her, but she's 'busy.'" Roy rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"You know, Lian is going to need to know about her mom at some point," said Dick.

"I'll tell her when the time is right," said Roy nervously as he scratched his hair.

"Do you think that when she finds out, she'll want to become a hero? Maybe pass the mantle of Red Arrow or Speedy to her?" asked Dick.

"Let's not talk about that now. We'll see what happens when we reach that point, but right now, I finally have a purpose in life," said Roy who goes to the bathroom.

When he returned, he noticed that Dick was chuckling while holding Lian. "What's so funny?" asks Roy.

"It's just that idea of Lian becoming a superhero reminds me of when I talked with Tim the day after Artemis was 'killed.' You see, I tried to comfort him when he told me that he felt like a replacement. I told Tim that he was so much more than that because he took this gig far more seriously than when I was the Boy Wonder and that if he doesn't want to feel like a replacement, he should prove it and make Jason proud. We later joked that he might be replaced by a girl or even the biological son of Batman."

Roy started to laugh a little for the first time in a long time and shakes his head. "That's actually funny," he said. "The son of Batman. Pfft. Please. Like that'll ever happen."

"Which reminds me," said Dick. "Superman and Lois Lane, the reporter from the Daily Planet, have a thing for each other. If those two ever married and have a son, then Conner can give up his mantle and retire with Miss. M. Just think: the son of Batman and the son of Superman working together as the Super Sons and going on superhero adventures."

Despite Roy's skepticism, Dick continued to entertain him and Lian with his overactive imagination about what the Team would look like in the future. His suggestions included a replacement Batgirl, another archer, another magician, a human cyborg, an alien princess, a demon-human hybrid, and people with an activated meta-gene.

"What's next? A franchise aimed towards young girls, featuring DC characters in a superhero high school setting?" asked Roy, but Dick wasn't pay attention to Roy breaking the 4th wall because he was suddenly looking more solemn when he mentioned meta-humans. He was thinking about the meta-gene activities involving the Light, the Kroloteans, and the Reach. He tells Roy that this could lead to meta-human trafficking which would then evolve into a genetic arms race spanning the globe and even beyond.

"Ugh, if only there was some sort of oracle that could tell us the future," complained Roy.

"Hmm. Oracle. I like that name," said Dick. "Oracle..."

"Owacle," said Lian which made the 2 guys laugh.

"Get some sleep. I have to drive you to the airport early tomorrow morning," said Roy who takes Lian from Dick and carries her to her crib, but Lian is crying because she doesn't want to sleep.

"Let me try," said Dick who sings a lullaby before putting her in her crib and gently closing the door.

"Thanks...Jesse McCartney," whispered Roy, much to Dick's chagrin. "By the way, my voice actor, Crispin Freeman, can actually sing opera. In fact, I think the voice actors for Zatanna, Barbara, Wally, Cassie, Bart, Kaldur, and maybe a few more have sung outside the show."

Dick immediately begins to pelt Roy's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Dick, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" Roy whispered before Dick finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," whispered Roy.

"Stop breaking the 4th wall! Besides, you can show me your opera skills in the morning," whispered Dick. He yawns and goes off to shower. After showering, Dick falls on the bed and thought about the future Team roster again.

 _"Maybe Roy is right. The son of Batman. I mean. Who would even be the mom?"_ Dick thought before finally falling asleep.

* * *

 **Warsaw, 16 hours after leaving Munich**

The circus train was heading from Munich to Moscow, but had to stop in Warsaw, Poland for supplies and rest. Sixteen minutes after leaving Warsaw city limits, Dick played some special music. It made him daydream about about cotton candy trees; a magic minibus; a unified system of roller coasters that functions as a subway and looked like something that built by Phineas and Ferb; a giant crazy _Kids Next Door_ style treehouse with a giant 'T' painted on it and a _Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends_ style house at the base; and most of all, his imaginary friends...

 _Stay strong, my wings. Don't let me go._

 _I can make it. I'm not on my own._

 _Keep flying on through the day._

 _On my love!_

 _(instrumental interlude)_

 _If I could soar the sky for hours_

 _just like a butterfly through flowers,_

 _I'll come to see you_

 _while I'm wearing a smile on my face._

 _Let go. Forget your worries._

 _Pack up, time to go, now let's hurry._

 _You know they're waiting,_

 _and there's no time for fooling around._

 _So tell me, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa._

 _If I could soar through the skies anymore._

 _Oh I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa_

 _what tomorrow will bring._

 _Will I reach all of my dreams?_

 _After the dream I'm lost and alone._

 _Quickly falling right through the unknown._

 _So I will fly and be free._

 _Escape this awful wasteland._

 _I will not worry!_

 _Stay strong, my wings, don't let me go._

 _I can make it. I'm not on my own._

 _Keep flying on through the day._

 _On my love!_

 _(instrumental interlude)_

 _I can fly the sky with no doubts,_

 _Just like when I spread my own wings out._

 _I'll keep my head up,_

 _and I'll shout as I leave from the ground._

 _I'm singing to the beat,_

 _I won't stop._

 _Gotta keep on,_

 _Won't give up._

 _I'll come and see you._

 _Just know I am here for you now._

 _So tell me, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa._

 _Will my voice echo throughout the whole town?_

 _Oh I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa_

 _what tomorrow will bring._

 _I am anticipating!_

 _After the dream that felt wouldn't end,_

 _now I'm back in my own world again._

 _But I'll be back. Sun or rain._

 _I will do my best and fight through the day!_

 _Stay strong, my wings. Don't fail me now._

 _We can make it, we'll do it somehow._

 _Keep flying on through the day._

 _On my love!_

 _(guitar soloing)_

 _After the dream, I'm lost and alone._

 _Quickly falling right through the unknown._

 _So I will fly and be free._

 _Escape this awful wasteland._

 _I will not worry!_

 _Stay strong, my wings. Don't let me go._

 _I can make it. I'm not on my own._

 _Keep flying on through the day._

 _Oh yeah!_

 _After the dream that felt wouldn't end._

 _Now I'm back in my own world again._

 _But I'll be back. Sun or rain._

 _I will do my best and fight through the day!_

 _Stay strong, my wings. Don't fail me now._

 _We can make it. We'll do it somehow._

 _Keep flying on through the day._

 _On my love!_

 _ **THE END**_

 **If you enjoyed this story and haven't done so already, check out my other story, "Nightwing's Confession", in which Nightwing is forgiven for his secret after having a nervous breakdown in front of the Team. Also Young Justice Outsiders is available on DC Universe (US fans only or VPN) and Teletoon (Canadian fans). Part 2 of season 3 premieres in June on DC Universe.  
**


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